
ROBERTELEE 



- BRADLEY* OILMAN 




Book Li___ 



Copyright}! . 







/ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



TRUE STORIES OF GREAT AMERICANS 



ROBERT E. LEE 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 




Robert E. Lee. 



Frontispiece. 



ROBERT E. LEE 



BY 
BRADLEY GILMAN 



Nefo Hoik 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

i9 r 5 

All rights reserved 



L^C,f 



Copyright, 1915, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1915. 



Nortoooti ipress 

J. 8. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 

APR 22 I9i5 
©CI.A397661 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Robert E. Lee's Boyhood i 

CHAPTER II 
Robert E. Lee's Youth J 3 

CHAPTER III 
Robert E. Lee's Marriage 21 

CHAPTER IV 
One of the World's Workers .... 3° 

CHAPTER V 
In the Mexican War ■ 43 

CHAPTER VI 
Deserved Promotions 55 

CHAPTER VII 
In Command at West Point 6 4 

V 



vi CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII 

PAGE 

Colonel Lee's Indian Campaign .... 70 

CHAPTER IX 
The Capture of John Brown .... 77 

CHAPTER X 
Crossing the Rubicon 86 

CHAPTER XI 
A War Within a Nation 95 

CHAPTER XII 
General Lee takes Command .... 106 

CHAPTER XIII 
Lee and his War Horse 119 

CHAPTER XIV 
The Battle of Antietam 131 

CHAPTER XV 
The Battle of Fredericksburg . . . .141 



CONTENTS vii 



CHAPTER XVI 

PAGE 

The Battle of Chancellorsville . . . .149 



CHAPTER XVII 
The Turn of the Tide 161 

CHAPTER XVIII 
Again defending Richmond 173 

CHAPTER XIX 
Appomattox Court House 183 

CHAPTER XX 

Lee's Greatness in Adversity . . . .189 

CHAPTER XXI 
"Taps" 201 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Robert E. Lee Frontispiece ' 

FACING PAGE 

The Lee Mansion at Arlington, Virginia . . 24 ; , 
Lee at the Close of the Mexican War . .62^ 
The Robert E. Lee Monument . . . . 120 J 
General Lee's Return to his Lines after the 

Surrender 184 / 

Lee's Home at Lexington, Virginia . . . 194 f 



IX 



ROBERT E. LEE 

CHAPTER I 

Robert Lee's Boyhood 

Not every young man of seventeen is strong 
enough to carry his mother about in his arms and 
yet suffer no harm from it. But young Robert 
Lee did it many a time : and his erect, well-knit 
frame bore the strain without the slightest ill- 
effects. His mother was an invalid ; her husband, 
Lieutenant Colonel Harry Lee, had fought in the 
American Revolution under General George Wash- 
ington. He had been known as " Light Horse 
Harry/' and his soldiers had formed "Lee's Legion," 
a command of mixed cavalry and infantry famous 
for their activity and daring. 

But this distinguished friend of George Washing- 
ton, after several years of illness, had died six 
years before; and his widow had devoted herself 
to the care of her children, five in number. Per- 
haps her grief over the death of her husband, 



2 ROBERT E. LEE 

together with her anxiety about her little family, 
had impaired her health : at least we know that 
she became unable to move about unaided; and 
fortunate indeed she was in her stalwart young 
son, Robert, who made her his especial care. 

Passers-by on Orinoco Street, Alexandria, Vir- 
ginia, must have been tenderly interested when 
they saw Robert, hurrying home after school, — 
the Alexandria Academy, or perhaps Mr. Hallo- 
well's school, next door, — bring out his mother 
in his arms, and place her carefully in the ancient 
yet comfortable old family coach. 

The faithful young son was not only loving and 
tender in spirit, but in his physical frame he was 
distinctly attractive. A little above the average 
height of boys of his age, his abundant dark hair 
curled slightly; and his clear, frank, hazel eyes, 
which were set wide apart in his broad, high fore- 
head, indicated that breadth of judgment which 
he afterward evinced as Commander-in-chief of 
the Confederate Army. His mouth was full and 
emotional ; it hinted at that great human tender- 
ness which won him such numbers of personal 
friends and such loyalty throughout his army. 
Yet, beneath expressive eyes and mouth, could 
be noted the firm jaw and resolute chin which 
suggested his indomitable will — that will by 



ROBERT LEE'S BOYHOOD 3 

which he always governed his own strong desires 
and passions, and, in his brilliant military career, 
overcame obstacles which would have defied most 
men. 

The boy knew well how much his dear mother 
enjoyed those long drives in the ponderous old 
coach; indeed, that was about her only form of 
diversion. So Robert, greatly as he loved boyish 
sports, — and he easily excelled in them, — res- 
olutely put them all aside, many a time, when 
they conflicted with these little journeyings with 
his invalid mother. 

For her part she gratefully recognized the self- 
sacrificing spirit of her athletic, handsome son, 
as he insisted on being her escort; doubtless she 
gave him a goodly share of her " mother love," 
and probably she confided in him even more freely 
and fully than in her other children. 

"Are you quite comfortable, mother?" he asked, 
regularly, after he had settled her among the 
cushions of the big coach. And when, sometimes, 
the damp, chill wind blew up from the river, he 
laughingly produced newspapers which he had 
brought, and, with his pocketknife, deftly made 
curtains to keep out the drafts of air that 
circulated freely through the cracks and crevices 
of the old-fashioned vehicle. It was his aim not 



4 ROBERT E. LEE 

only to give his mother the benefit of the drive, but 
also to divert her from her household cares and 
bodily ailments. 

"For you know, mother," he sometimes said, 
with a protective tenderness far beyond his years, 
"the drive will not benefit you as it ought, unless 
you take it in a cheerful mood." 

In addition to this charming concern for his 
mother's welfare, Robert gradually assumed charge 
of the household affairs. His older sister was deli- 
cate in health, and for several years was absent 
from home, in Philadelphia, under the care of 
physicians; the younger sister was quite too 
immature for such responsibilities; and the older 
son, Carter, was at Cambridge; while the other 
brother, Sidney Smith Lee, was in the navy. 

Therefore Robert carried the big bunch of keys, 
which, in Southern households as in English house- 
holds, stood for authority and responsibility. Per- 
haps he did not care so much for the special indoor 
duties involved, although he performed them faith- 
fully ; but in the general directing of the estate he 
found a larger scope for his activities. And, too, 
the care of horses was a pleasure to him ; he dearly 
loved all animals, and throughout his life he had 
deep sympathy for various family pets. When 
he became commander-in-chief of the army, he rode 



ROBERT LEE'S BOYHOOD 5 

habitually an iron-gray horse named "Traveler" 
who became almost as famous as his rider. 

We are often told that "the child is father of the 
man"; in most cases this maxim holds true; in 
the case of young Robert Lee it was very true in- 
deed. The wonderful union of strength and ten- 
derness which characterized him even after he had 
become a great military leader was plainly indi- 
cated by his acts as a boy. That iron endurance 
of labors and privations which made his fellow 
soldiers marvel at him, in his arduous campaigns, 
was nurtured in him, as a lad, by his open-air life 
in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He himself 
has left the record that in his youth he dearly loved 
fox-hunting. There was much of this exciting sport 
in the Old Dominion ; for Virginians had inherited 
from England many of the English customs about 
athletic pastimes. People to-day are perhaps not 
so much in sympathy with the rather cruel sport of 
fox-hunting ; yet, a hundred years ago, the vigor- 
ous boy, Robert Lee, naturally caught the zeal of 
his older friends and relatives. Robert was rarely 
" in at the death" of the panting, exhausted victim ; 
for he followed the well-mounted hunters on foot. 
He declared, long afterward, that he often ran sev- 
eral hours at a stretch. In this way his nerves and 
muscles stored up strength for later use. 



6 ROBERT E. LEE 

It is one of the awful duties imposed on a great 
military commander to give orders to his men which 
he knows will result in suffering and death to many 
of them. A commander who has a tender heart 
issues such orders only as they are seen to be the 
one necessary path to victory. General McClellan, 
Commander of the Union Army of the Potomac 
early in the Civil War, was severely blamed for 
his "'delays" and endless " preparations"; but his 
reluctance to order active campaigning was prob- 
ably due, in some measure, to his tender-hearted- 
ness, and his dread of the slaughter which must 
follow such a command. 

Other generals, like Napoleon Bonaparte, have 
never hesitated, from fear of bringing agony to 
countless faithful soldiers and anguish to untold 
numbers of homes ; but they have acted from no 
higher motive than the gratification of their own 
greedy and cruel ambitions. 

General Robert E. Lee was not as hesitating a 
man as McClellan, nor was he cruel or selfish like 
Bonaparte; he gave orders, many a time, which 
involved pain and sorrow for many human beings, 
but we know how he regretted so dire a necessity. 
This fact is testified to by men who stood beside 
him on bloody battlefields as well as by his own 
letters. So we find him, as a boy, gentle and con- 



ROBERT LEE'S BOYHOOD 7 

siderate of all who were associated with him. His 
mother exclaimed, when it was decided that he 
should leave home for the West Point Military 
Academy, "How can I live without Robert! He 
has been both a son and a daughter to me." 

This was testimony from a loving mother's heart, 
regarding the constancy and delicacy of her son's 
ministrations to her, in her lonely widowhood. 
Especially since she had come with her little family 
to dwell in the city of Alexandria had she felt this 
growing dependence upon her son Robert. Prob- 
ably earlier, in their country life at Stratford, 
these fine filial traits had begun to show themselves. 

We must remember that Robert's earliest recol- 
lections were about that free out-of-door life in 
Westmoreland County, Virginia; there he had 
been born on the seventeenth day of January, 1807. 
Stratford House was erected on a bluff overlooking 
the Potomac River and had been the home of the 
Lee family for several generations. It was a spa- 
cious, dignified structure, built with wings forming 
the letter "H." Many important events had oc- 
curred in that mansion, and it always carried an air 
of old-time splendor. But Robert himself cared 
little about genealogy or " family trees," and rarely 
mentioned his ancestors, back of one generation. 
Probably this was due to the fact that he himself 



8 ROBERT E. LEE 

was living an earnest, noble life; usually the 
members of a family who have achieved little them- 
selves are most insistent on the eminence of their 
forbears. Again, living as near as he did to the 
great Washington, " Father of his Country," 
Robert Lee must have felt the influence of that 
high standard of human life. 

He was but eleven years old when his father died, 
— that father who was able to tell his son many 
facts about Washington. For "Light Horse 
Harry," together with General Greene, had shared 
successes and failures alike with the great com- 
mander of the American Revolution. During 
Robert's boyhood, in Alexandria, we see him more 
distinctly than in his earlier days. He came under 
the instruction of two excellent men who could 
discern in him high promise of a noble manhood. 
The first of these was Mr. William B. Leary, of the 
Alexandria Academy, a man of character and edu- 
cation. He must have made a deep impression 
upon his remarkable pupil, for the two remained 
friends throughout their lives. More than forty 
years afterward, Mr. Leary, who had watched 
with profound interest the development of his 
former pupil, enjoyed an interview with him at 
Lexington, Virginia; and a second time, years 
afterward, when General Lee was returning from 



ROBERT LEE'S BOYHOOD 9 

Georgia, Mr. Leary made a long journey to meet 
again his former pupil of whom he had become so 
justly proud. 

Not only was Robert's education progressing in 
branches like history, mathematics, and languages, 
but in moral and religious principles he received 
good tutelage ; probably in his case, as with most 
young people, the deepest lessons that he learned 
were those that came from his mother's lips and life ; 
but in the Episcopal school at Alexandria he re- 
ceived the usual training given by that church; 
and when we remind ourselves that, in later life, 
the world marveled as greatly at his heroic 
virtues as at his brilliant generalship, we are led to 
believe that the instruction imparted by the young 
rector, the Rev. William Meade, of Alexandria, was 
a determining factor in Robert's character. 

Many years afterward, during the Civil War, 
this same clergyman — then the aged and infirm 
Bishop Meade — sent for his former pupil ; and 
Robert E. Lee, a gray-haired veteran, hastened 
to his bedside. The meeting must have been a 
tender one for both men. The aged bishop, taking 
the distinguished officer's hand, exclaimed impul- 
sively and affectionately, "God bless you, Robert! 
I can't call you ' General, ' I have heard you recite 
your catechism too often for that ! " 



io ROBERT E. LEE 

The choice of a vocation in life is always a serious 
step for a young man. But when the choice came 
to Robert Lee there seemed but one career for 
him to consider ; it was that of a soldier. In his 
family might be numbered many soldiers of rank 
and distinction, and the young fellow had often 
heard discussed various points of military tactics 
and strategy. So he made his decision without 
hesitation, planning to go to West Point, then 
as now a great national military school. To 
prepare for the entrance examinations Robert en- 
tered the school of Mr. Benjamin Hallowell, at 
Alexandria. Mr. Hallowell was a member of the 
Society of Friends. Later, at the time of the Civil 
War, he was more in sympathy with the North 
than with the South, but he always spoke with the 
greatest admiration of the Confederate leader who 
had fitted under him for West Point. 

The Alexandria school-building was reddish yel- 
low in color, and the boys called it " Brimstone 
Castle " ; but in it a lad could get an excellent educa- 
tion, and Robert Lee made the most of his oppor- 
tunities. Many years afterward Mr. Hallowell 
wrote of his former pupil : " Robert E. Lee entered 
my school in Alexandria in the winter of 1824-25. 
He was a most exemplary scholar in every respect, 
and never behind time at his lessons. He never 



ROBERT LEE'S BOYHOOD n 

failed in a single recitation ; he was perfectly ob- 
servant of all the rules and regulations of the in- 
stitution. He was gentlemanly and respectful to 
all his teachers and fellow pupils. He imparted a 
neatness to everything he undertook. In studying 
conic sections he drew his diagrams on a slate ; and, 
knowing though he did that the one he was drawing 
would soon be rubbed out to make room for an- 
other, he yet drew each diagram with as much 
accuracy, lettering and all, as if it was to be printed 
and engraved." 

These are strong words of praise from an instruc- 
tor who knew intimately this lad of seventeen, yet 
the painstaking qualities which Robert displayed 
in those early days were repeated in after life; 
for, thirty-five years later, General Lee worked out 
all the details in his campaigns with that same de- 
gree of thoroughness. His friend and fellow-soldier, 
General Longstreet, tells us that Lee gave absorbed 
attention to his maps and plans, sometimes calling 
for Longstreet and saying to him, "Do help me, 
please, to work out this problem ! I have thought 
so long about it that my mind runs in a circle. Help 
me to find a tangent which will take me out of it ! " 

We know that Robert was an upright, manly, 
and honorable lad. We need not take literally 
his enthusiastic instructor's statement that he was 



12 ROBERT E. LEE 

always "gentlemanly and respectful to his teacher 
and fellow pupils" Probably, in Robert's school 
days, as in those of most lads, there arose occasions 
when high words and even blows may have been 
given and taken. On this point we have few defi- 
nite facts; but what we do know of the boy's 
noble nature and generous heart makes us feel sure 
that he never took advantage of smaller or weaker 
companions. And, after the excitement was over, 
he was always willing to forgive and forget. 



CHAPTER II 

Robert Lee's Youth 

In the year 1825, when Robert was eighteen years 
old, he finished his preparatory studies and was 
ready to enter the West Point Military Academy. 
But for admission to that famous institution some- 
thing more was needed by a young man than even 
the excellent training of Mr. Hallowell's prepara- 
tory school. There was need of a personal recom- 
mendation from some distinguished friend; and 
that recommendation Robert sought from no less a 
personage than General Andrew Jackson, who in 
1829 became President of the United States. 
Robert's aunt, Mrs. Lewis, went with her nephew 
to Washington and presented him — we may be 
sure with pride and confidence — to General Jack- 
son. When we recall the attractive, manly quali- 
ties of young Lee, it is not surprising that a 01d 
Hickory " was much pleased with the applicant, 
and he readily gave the recommendation sought. 
If the rough old Indian fighter ever commended 
other young men, under similar circumstances, 

13 



14 ROBERT E. LEE 

we may feel sure that he never lent his influence 
to any who more fully justified his approving word 
afterward than did Robert E. Lee, born of the 
fighting stock of "Light Horse Harry" Lee. 

Thus Robert came to the "parting of the ways." 
He had known great grief, in the death of his father. 
Now a different kind of sorrow came upon him. 
Not only did he feel depressed at the thought of 
leaving his beloved mother, but he was now mature 
enough to turn the situation about, and realize 
how sad the separation must be for her. Still, the 
eager spirit of youth sang in his heart ; and he was 
powerfully drawn to the soldier life, and to those 
studies that would fit him for it. 

He had dreams of the high service that he might 
render his country, and his knowledge of his father's 
distinguished military record was the soil in which 
those dreams rooted themselves. At length the 
parting from home was over. Farewells were said ; 
promises to "write often" were lovingly inter- 
changed; and Robert E. Lee became a cadet of 
West Point, with four years of hard study, yet with 
many happy hours of relaxation and recreation, 
stretching before him. 

• In the academy he met several young men who 
became his warm friends, remaining such all his 
life, even when conscience — equally imperative 



ROBERT LEE'S YOUTH 15 

in both cases — drove some into the Union armies 
and others into the armies of the Confederacy. 
Several of these cadet friends became Lee's aids 
and allies in the Confederate Army of Northern 
Virginia. Others, when they became leaders in 
the Union Army of the Potomac, playing that 
fierce, terrible game of war against him in dead 
earnest, Lee met and out-maneuvered by superior 
strategy which he based upon his knowledge of 
their characters as learned by him in the West 
Point days. 

Together with the regular routine of his book 
studies went a goodly amount of rigorous drilling ; 
and this brought the weaker students of the 
academy into erect, soldierly bearing. But Robert 
needed physical training far less than some of his 
classmates, as he was five feet eleven in height, — 
that perfect stature for all-around efficiency, — and 
stood easily, with squared shoulders, looking out 
fearlessly upon the world from clear, frank, brown 
eyes, set in a broad, intellectual forehead. 

Many of his. comrades kept within the rules of 
the Academy with difficulty; but Robert had al- 
ready learned how to control himself, how to drive 
his impulses and appetites, like fiery steeds, by the 
bridle of his powerful will. Fitzhugh Lee, nephew 
of Robert E. Lee, graduated from West Point in 



1 6 ROBERT E. LEE 

1856 ; and it is from him we learn most of what we 
know concerning his illustrious uncle's career as a 
cadet in that institution. 

Most boys have felt a strong inclination, at some 
time, to be enrolled in a " military school," as many 
of the private schools in our country call themselves. 
Some of these institutions have little more of the 
military element than the wearing of uniforms and 
the display of martial titles; but at West Point, 
in the year 1825, as now, the actual life of a soldier 
was followed as closely as possible; there was a 
real obedience to severe discipline. For example, 
during certain favorable months of the year, 
Robert took part in genuine camp-life. Tents 
were pitched and all the routine of camp-life was 
maintained. He rose at dawn, helped put his 
tent in perfect order, then hastened to an early 
breakfast, and took active part in the soldierly 
duties of the day. A part of his duty was to act 
as sentinel; for the camp was surrounded by 
pickets, day and night, each cadet pacing back and 
forth at his post, through a portion of the twenty- 
four hours, as would be done in case of war. 

One of the camp rules was that only during certain 
hours might a lad go outside the camp limits. If 
he stole out secretly, he must take his chances of 
being caught by a sentinel ; and then there were 



ROBERT LEE'S YOUTH 17 

demerits or penalties imposed upon him. Of 
course there was a certain fascination in trying to 
steal, unseen, across the picket line, even when no 
definite gain came from it. The exciting risk of the 
act was a temptation to many ; but, so far as is 
known, Robert was never guilty of such an infrac- 
tion of rules — which was called "running the 
sentry post.'' 

One of the pranks of wild young students was the 
arranging of a dummy figure in his bed, and then 
slipping away for the night, taking a chance that 
the inspecting officer would mistake the dummy for 
the bed's proper occupant. Just how far our young 
cadet entered into those misdemeanors — for they 
were no less — is not certain. But he could not 
have committed many of them, for his record at 
West Point shows that he did not receive a single 
demerit during his four years' course. In addition, 
Robert Lee's record shows that he graduated second 
in a class of forty-six; and he could not have 
wasted much of his time and attain such high rank. 
Many of the students who entered with bright pros- 
pects failed to graduate ; ten, sometimes twenty, 
per cent of them dropped out before the final ex- 
aminations. 

Not only in the classroom did young Lee take 
high rank, but of the various military honors 



18 ROBERT E. LEE 

awarded to students he gained his full share; for 
at his graduation he held the highest honor which 
was at that time possible — adjutancy of the 
corps. In these days, when military tactics are 
more scientifically studied than they were in 1825- 
1829, cadets at West Point play what is called the 
"War Game. ,, In this game make-believe regi- 
ments and brigades are moved about upon large 
topographical maps, now attacking and now de- 
fending. This game is a great favorite at West 
Point and most instructive to a student of tactics 
and strategy. But it was not invented until 1870. 
In young Lee's time the closest resemblance to a 
war game was chess, or perhaps checkers. 

There must have been many temptations to wild 
conduct for such an active lad as Robert Lee. In 
a letter written to President Adams by Colonel 
Thayer, who was commandant, or superintendent, 
of West Point while Robert was there, that official 
stated that there was a great deal of dissipation 
among the students. But a strong, self-controlled 
fellow like Robert was not likely to yield up his self- 
respect and manhood at any point. 

Later, when Robert E. Lee became commander of 
the Confederate army, he refused, on more than one 
occasion, to promote some officer, saying plainly, 
"He is a good, capable soldier ; but I have learned 



ROBERT LEE'S YOUTH 19 

that he is addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks ; 
and I will not put in control of others a man who 
cannot control himself." 

All these sterner virtues of self-discipline and self- 
restraint we expect to find in a lad who afterward 
became so distinguished a military leader ; we are 
not surprised at this. But we might expect to 
find so stern a warrior as Robert afterward became, 
lacking, in his youth, some of the tenderer qualities 
of human nature. If we had that fear, it would 
soon be allayed when we read of his conduct toward 
the Lee's family coachman, "Old Nat," a negro, 
who had been attacked by a disease of the lungs. 

When Robert, then twenty-two years old, re- 
turned to Alexandria, he found "Old Nat," his boy- 
hood friend, very ill. At once his heart was touched. 
A cold-hearted, selfish person might have said, 
"I am not in duty bound to care for this man ; he 
has been paid full wages ; let him look after him- 
self." Some one else, with a kind heart but with 
less nobility, might have put a sum of money into 
the old man's hand and then dismissed the matter 
from his mind. Neither of these ways was taken 
by Robert. He gave not only money, he gave him- 
self, his time, his sympathy, and his effort; he 
went with feeble "Old Nat" down into the state 
of Georgia, seeking a milder climate; and there 



20 ROBERT E. LEE 

Robert employed good medical attendance and 
himself acted as nurse. 

But the poor old man was hopelessly ill; he 
became weaker and weaker, and in a few months 
he died. Then his young master gave the worn- 
out body proper burial, and returned to his home 
in Alexandria to take up whatever duty should 
come next. Thus, in this noble American lad, 
we may see that blending of strength and tenderness 
which made him afterward an ideal of manhood to 
thousands the world over. 



CHAPTER III 
Robert E. Lee's Marriage 

Graduates of West Point, as they go out into 
the world to put into practice the principles which 
they have been studying in theory, divide into four 
classes. A portion of them enter the infantry 
service; others go into the cavalry; still others 
into the artillery; and, last of all, some into the 
engineering corps. These last are usually among 
the best scholars of the academy; and, although 
there are exceptions scattered throughout these 
classes, a strong personal preference being some- 
times exercised by the young man himself, yet the 
engineer corps usually stands highest in honor. 

To this branch of the service Robert Lee was as- 
signed, at the age of twenty- two. Then, as now, the 
duties of a military engineer were the construction 
of roads and bridges, the fortifying of harbors and 
seaports, the clearing of rivers which, because of 
sand bars, had become impassable, and other similar 
work requiring sound judgment and a preparation 
in mathematics and natural sciences. These quali- 

21 



22 ROBERT E. LEE 

fications were possessed by our young Virginian, 
now Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, of the Engineer 
Corps of the United States Army. 

This branch of the army had certain advantages. 
Its members were not so likely to be sent out into 
frontier life, there to endure hardships and perils; 
to the infantry and cavalry, and in part to the artil- 
lery, fell these duties ; but as members of the en- 
gineer corps usually lived in cities and towns they 
were able to enjoy the pleasures of cultivated so- 
ciety. 

So it was with our young lieutenant. During 
the first four years of his professional life he was 
assigned to Fortress Monroe, and assisted in 
strengthening the defenses of Hampton Roads. 
His nearness to Washington and Arlington made 
it possible for him to follow up a friendship which 
had long been of interest to him, and which had, 
of late, become deeply romantic. It was his 
friendship for Miss Mary Custis, granddaughter of 
the wife of George Washington. 

The young people had known each other nearly 
all their lives. During the latter part of Robert 
Lee's cadetship he had used at least a part of his 
furlough in visiting Mary Custis at her home in 
Arlington. She was a girl of great charm and ex- 
ceptionally well educated. She had been proud, 



ROBERT E. LEE'S MARRIAGE 23 

many a time, when the handsome young cadet, 
arrayed in gray uniform with bullet-shaped buttons 
and gold lace, had put himself to a good deal of 
trouble to visit her. Between the two there was 
mutual attraction ; and each seemed worthy of the 
other. Probably the " course of true love" did not 
run with entire smoothness; there is a tradition 
that Mary's father, George Washington Parke Cus- 
tis, disapproved. Doubtless he thought that no 
man, not even the admirable son of " Light Horse 
Harry " Lee, was quite worthy of his daughter. 
But she did not agree with him ; and Robert him- 
self, although he may have felt, with Mary's 
father, that he was not worthy of this lovely girl, 
did not give up his courtship ; and he at length won 
her promise to be his wife. 

It is always difficult for young people, no matter 
how much they may esteem and care for each other, 
to bring their relatives and friends to see the beloved 
one with their own love-lighted eyes. But in the 
courtship of Robert Lee and Mary Custis we have 
the testimony of a near relative, which ought to 
have satisfied the loftiest demands of even Mary 
Custis, could she have seen it. In a letter, written 
long afterward, that relative says: "I was fre- 
quently with my aunt's family at Arlington. I 
remember hearing Robert spoken of as a young 



24 ROBERT E. LEE 

man of great promise ; his devotion to his mother 
was warmly commented on. The first time that I 
remember being struck by his manly beauty and 
attractiveness was during one of his returns from 
West Point, on furlough. I also remember being 
with him once at my grandfather Randolph's, at 
Fauquier. He was splendid-looking, and as full 
of fun — especially for teasing — as any of us." 

Many years afterward one of General Robert E. 
Lee's own sons left on record that his father chaffed 
and teased certain people, — "but only those of 
whom he was particularly fond." Perhaps the 
"relative" whose letter is quoted belonged to that 
class. She says further: "The first time it struck 
me that Lieutenant Lee was really remarkable was 
during another of my visits to Arlington. Robert 
was reading ; I looked up, and, as my glance fell 
upon his face, in perfect repose, the thought passed 
through my mind, 'you certainly look more like a 
great man, than any one I have ever seen.' " 

After Robert was graduated from West Point, 
two years of happy courtship passed; but, ab- 
sorbed as were the young lovers in each other, the 
earnest, ambitious young lieutenant of engineers 
did not neglect his professional duties. He applied 
himself with zeal to his work and gained a reputa- 
tion for ability. 



ROBERT E. LEE'S MARRIAGE 25 

Then, in June, 1831, came the wedding. It took 
place in the right-hand drawing-room of the his- 
toric mansion at Arlington. Tourists and travelers 
are to-day shown the exact spot where the happy 
young couple stood to be married by the Rev. Mr. 
Keith. 1 

At most weddings the principal personages are 
the bride and groom and the officiating clergyman. 
If these three are present, whatever delays or ab- 
sences occur the ceremony may go forward ; but if 
one of these three is absent, all is at a standstill. 
This is precisely what happened at Arlington. The 
guests arrived, — scores of them. The first brides- 
maid and the best man were Miss CatharineMason 
and Lieutenant Sidney Smith Lee; the second 
bridesmaid and groomsman were Miss Mary 
Goldborough and Lieutenant Thomas Kennedy; 
the third bridesmaid was Miss Marietta Turner, 
escorted by Lieutenant Chambers; the fourth 
couple were Miss Lewis and Mr. Tillman ; fifth, 
Miss Julia Calvert and Lieutenant Prentiss ; and 
sixth and last came Miss Britannia Peter with 
Lieutenant Thomas Turner. 

There must have been a brave display of gold 
lace in such a gay young company comprising 

1 Authorities differ as regards the name of the officiating clergy- 
man ; General A. L. Long gives it as "the Reverend Mr. Meade." 



26 ROBERT E. LEE 

many officers of the army, and the costumes of 
the young girls were equally gorgeous. But as 
yet the clergyman, Mr. Keith, had not arrived. 
An atmosphere of uneasiness began to pervade the 
light-hearted group. " Where can he be?" "Are 
you sure he was properly notified ? " "Perhaps the 
storm has detained him." For a heavy shower had 
come up. 

Just as the uneasiness was deepening into real 
anxiety, and the best man, Sidney Smith Lee, had 
gone to the doorway for the third time to peer out 
along the rain-swept avenue, a covered carriage 
came rolling down the graveled roadway, drawn by 
a drooping, plodding horse. 

The vehicle was indeed "covered," but imper- 
fectly. Presently, as it drew up before the door, 
the Rev. Mr. Keith disentangled his long, angular 
form from the flapping leather curtains, and pre- 
sented himself, soaked to the skin, but cheerful and 
reassuring. His drive in the pelting rain from the 
Episcopal Theological School in Alexandria, where 
he was a professor, had not been really exhilarating. 

The pent-up anxiety of the guests found decorous 
expression in restrained laughter which became 
more open as the good-natured clergyman himself 
set them the example. So all laughed together and 
were glad it was no worse. 



ROBERT E. LEE'S MARRIAGE 27 

But stay ! How could Mr. Keith stand, in drip- 
ping clothes, to perform the ceremony ? He might 
imperil his health ; and his dripping garments might 
give an unpleasant dampness to the floor of the 
" right-hand drawing-room" of stately old Arling- 
ton. Who would come to the rescue ? Who could 
supply the clergyman with dry clothes ? 

Who, indeed, but Mr. Custis, who had in the be- 
ginning, as the bride's father, so sternly opposed the 
match. Now that relenting parent bore Mr. 
Keith away to another room and fitted him out from 
head to foot with clothes that were at least dry 
and comfortable, but alas, were an exceedingly bad 
fit. For, while Mr. Custis was short and stout, the 
Rev. Mr. Keith was long and thin ; and he found 
coat-sleeves and trouser-legs a decided misfit. As 
for the coat's circumference, it was ample ; it even 
lapped over. 

When the hospitable Mr. Custis surveyed his 
newly clad guest there was more laughter ; and all 
were at their wit's end, as to a remedy for the de- 
ficiencies. But Mr. Keith, calling for his port- 
manteau, ameliorated his own condition. He drew 
out his surplice and put it on ; and that garment 
straightway became like charity, for it covered a 
multitude of defects. 

At length the two men returned to the company, 



28 ROBERT E. LEE 

and then, with all proper dignity and solemnity, 
the marriage ceremony was performed. After- 
ward all sat down to an elaborate supper where 
fun and good fellowship were in order. The ac- 
count of this wedding as here given portrays that 
interesting event from the inside, as the family saw 
it. All that the outside world knew of it they saw 
in the public notices, long after cited by General 
Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of Robert Lee, — 

" Married, June 30th, 183 1, at Arlington House, 
by the Rev. Mr. Keith, Lieutenant Robert E. Lee 
of the United States Corps of Engineers, and Mary 
A. R. Custis, only daughter of G. W. P. Custis, Esq." 

Thus auspiciously began Robert Lee's married 
life. The marriage brought him the control of his 
wife's large property ; and she always declared that 
she was as much the gainer as he, for he managed 
her affairs so wisely that the property increased 
greatly in value. The real gain, however, was 
for the young people themselves, in the faithful 
affection that they gave each other. He was all 
tenderness and fidelity, while she was ever the soul 
of trust and devotion. Perhaps they felt that now 
they would have little more to ask of life. If such 
a feeling found a place in Robert E. Lee's heart, it 
was not for long. After his marriage, as before, 
his military profession opened invitingly before 



ROBERT E. LEE'S MARRIAGE 29 

him ; and now he could share his aims and ambi- 
tions with one who made them her own, giving 
loving counsel in his perplexities and tender sym- 
pathy in his disappointments. 

Perhaps they realized now, as never before, the 
grounds for Mr. Custis's opposition to their mar- 
riage ; for the character of the young lieutenant's 
duties took him away from home much of the time. 
Mr. Custis had foreseen this ; but now, as Mary's 
father noted the constancy of affection between the 
two, he felt his disapproval disappear. We know 
that, as he took his son-in-law into his beautiful 
old family mansion, at Arlington, he also took him 
into the good-will of his own heart. 



CHAPTER IV 
One of the World's Workers 

After the expiration of the short leave of ab- 
sence which is allowed officers who marry, Lieuten- 
ant Lee returned to his duties as assistant engineer 
at Hampton Roads. There he gave all his skill 
and effort toward making the harbor fortifications 
as strong as possible. How little he realized that 
twenty-four years later he would give similar ear- 
nest study to the destruction of these defenses. 
But such was the singular and terrible turn of for- 
tune's wheel ; and many other reversals of progress 
there were, in that fierce Civil War of 1861-65, as 
we shall see in due time. 

After four years of service at Fortress Monroe, 
Lee was appointed assistant to Chief Engineer 
Gratiot, of Washington. This change was agree- 
able to him and to his young wife, not only because 
it was a promotion, but because the distance 
between Arlington and Washington was short, and 
Lieutenant Lee could have more time with his 
family. 

30 



ONE OF THE WORLD'S WORKERS 31 

In fact, he could make the short journey on horse- 
back ; and day after day he did this, starting from 
home in time to reach his office before nine, and 
leaving it soon after three, for the return trip. 
He rode a large, well-built horse of bay color ; and, 
no matter what the weather might be, he could be 
seen, every afternoon, on Pennsylvania Avenue, a 
handsome rider on a handsome steed. The exer- 
cise thus gained was not only a pleasure to the ath- 
letic young lieutenant, but also a factor in the 
vigor and endurance which he showed in the Civil 
War, under the enormous burden of his arduous 
tasks. 

That we may not picture Robert Lee as a color- 
less, negative person, we have only to believe what 
has been left on record about his gayety and high 
spirits, by men of his acquaintance. Further than 
this, a single anecdote gives us a glimpse of that 
mirthful temper which marked his words and ac- 
tions until the dreadful gloom of the Civil War 
settled over him. Yet even that did not wholly 
banish the smile from his face, or the witticism from 
his lips. 

One afternoon, as the young lieutenant was set- 
ting out from Washington on horseback, he met his 
friend, Captain Macomb, walking. As the two men 
met there was some pleasant chaffing between them, 



32 ROBERT E. LEE 

— perhaps about the riders "seat" on horseback, 
or the horsed ability to carry his master. The 
lieutenant cut short the raillery by challenging, 
"Get up here with me, Captain! This horse can 
carry two as well as one ! " 

Probably the speaker did not expect the chal- 
lenge to be accepted ; but the mischievous captain 
took him at his word ; and, in the same spirit of 
fun, responded, " I'll accept your offer. Bring your 
noble steed over to this horse-block and I'll be with 
you!" 

"What! Can't you mount from the roadway? 
A good horseman, like you, ought to be able to do 
that." 

"Is that the way you mounted?" came the 
captain's laughing retort. "Or did you use the 
block in front of your office?" 

With a laugh Lee admitted the point raised, and 
drew up near the sidewalk. Immediately the ac- 
tive young captain — himself an excellent horse- 
man — put his foot in the stirrup and swung him- 
self on behind the lieutenant. 

Thus with more chaffing and banter they rode 
on down the street, while passers-by stared at them 
in bewilderment. But just as the two young men 
reached the President's house, Lee discovered the 
Honorable Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the 



ONE OF THE WORLD'S WORKERS 33 

Treasury, coming leisurely toward them on the 
sidewalk. 

"Hush!" enjoined Lee, quickly, "here comes 
the Honorable Secretary; this isn't quite as fine 
a joke as I thought. Can't you slip off behind?" 
And he stifled a laugh as he spoke. 

"I could, but I won't," replied Macomb. "He 
hasn't seen us yet. Can't you turn the animal 
around?" 

"I could, but I won't," retorted Lee. "Never 
retreat in the face of an enemy, if you can help it ! 
That's what we learned at West Point. I say, 
come on ! We'll pull our longest faces and take 
what happens." 

So both these young officers, with great gravity, 
returned the salute of the plainly astonished treas- 
urer, and continued their way in perfect solemnity, 
not daring to relax until they were some distance 
from the spot. Then the laughter was heartier 
than ever, and there was even some pushing and 
pulling as the captain dismounted, while the intelli- 
gent Virginia horse tossed his head, trying to un- 
derstand what all this boyish play was about. 

Weeks and months passed ; and in the summer 
of 1837 Lieutenant Lee was ordered to St. Louis 
to find some remedy for the sand-bars which had 
formed in the Mississippi River, in front of the city, 



34 ROBERT E. LEE 

seriously impeding navigation. This meant a 
separation from the Arlington home ; but in enter- 
ing upon his profession Lee realized that he would 
be ordered about from one point to another, and 
he had hardened himself to accept bravely what- 
ever separations were involved. 

In those days traveling in the United States was 
far slower and more difficult than it is now. At 
that time no steam railroad had crossed the Alle- 
ghany Mountains ; journeys by carriage or on 
horseback, or by rivers and canals, were the rule. 
Hotels and inns, if the traveler found any at all, 
were of a primitive character ; while a journey west 
of the Atlantic States was beset with discomforts, 
even with perils. 

To a robust young man like Robert Lee such 
hardships and dangers were only to be laughed at ; 
he rejoiced in his youthful strength, and loved to 
test his powers of endurance. In June, 1837, 
when he was thirty years old, he set forth with 
Lieutenant Meigs for St. Louis and Des Moines. 
Leaving Washington, they went first by the Penn- 
sylvania Canal to Pittsburg; there they took a 
small steamboat and sailed down to Louisville, 
stopping on the way at Cincinnati. At Louisville 
Lieutenant Lee gathered a company of river men, 
rough, fearless fellows who would fight an enemy or 



ONE OF THE WORLD'S WORKERS 35 

risk their lives for a friend with equal readiness. 
Accompanied by these men, the two officers con- 
tinued their journey and at length reached Des 
Moines Rapids, where they planned to begin work. 

At once they saw the need of their efforts; for 
their small steamer soon ran aground on the rocks 
of the lower channel. All helped as well as they 
could; poles and sweeps supplemented the efforts 
of the wheezy little engine, but the boat stuck fast 
and there she remained for several days. The reefs 
and shallows and sand-bars were all about them. 
Not in the least disconcerted, the two young men 
directed the captain to keep his craft as she was, and 
whatever sounding or surveying was needed they 
would do from small boats. 

So the steamer was made the base of operations 
and the men went out each morning in boats, re- 
turning to the little steamer every night. Thus in 
time the various barriers to navigation were charted, 
the depth of the channel was recorded, and the 
results of their examination were entered in their 
books, ready for use in the construction work which 
would follow. 

Leaving the steamer still hopelessly aground, 
with her captain in a doleful frame of mind, the 
party now embarked on another steamer which 
had come down to them. On this they ascended 



36 ROBERT E. LEE 

the river to the Rock Island Rapids. There they 
found another unfortunate little steamer stranded 
on the rocks, badly wrenched. Her hull was 
shattered, her lower deck was under water, and 
preparations had been made for taking out her 
engines. Not an agreeable lodging-house, but it 
served our party. Fortunately, the upper cabin 
and staterooms were above water; and in these 
Lieutenant Lee directed his men to settle them- 
selves, while once more they made a stranded 
steamer the base for their surveying duties. 

Not every hour of the long summer days was 
devoted to work, though we may be sure that the 
party faithfully made "long hours"; such leisure 
as they had was spent exploring the country along 
the shores of the Mississippi, together with swim- 
ming, fishing, and a little hunting. We are told 
that the big river abounded in catfish, pickerel, 
and many other varieties of fish; and the enthu- 
siastic fishermen of the party kept the larder sup- 
plied with fresh food. 

By the end of October the soundings and chart- 
ings were completed, and Lieutenant Lee ordered 
a return to the Des Moines Rapids. This was 
accomplished on one of the steamers which were 
resolutely but guardedly picking their way up and 
down the rock-strewn river. When they finally 



ONE OF THE WORLD'S WORKERS 37 

reached Des Moines the scene had somewhat 
changed, for this was the place where the Chip- 
pewa Indians assembled, each autumn, to receive 
gifts from the agents in charge of their tribe. In 
consequence, the shores of the river were fairly 
lined with birch-bark canoes, while among the trees 
many wigwams could be seen. 

The " red man " was not as degraded then as he 
has since become, so our surveying party greatly 
enjoyed the picturesque scene, finding much to ad- 
mire in the splendid physiques and dignified bearing 
of the Chippewas. The autumn rains had now set in, 
far up in the highlands, among the streams which fed 
the mighty Mississippi, and the great river had al- 
ready risen several feet ; so our friends of the sur- 
veying party were able to get their stranded steamer 
off the rocks and ledges ; and, after some repairs, 
she was able to carry them back to St. Louis. 

Here the most difficult part of Lee's engineering 
work faced him, and he had need of all the training 
he had received at West Point and Fortress Monroe. 
On Lee's strong shoulders rested the real responsi- 
bility, for Lieutenant Meigs, although his fellow- 
officer and warm friend, was in a subordinate posi- 
tion. The country all about them was but half 
reclaimed from its former wilderness state; there 
were no large cities, only hastily built towns far 



38 ROBERT E. LEE 

apart from one another ; while scattered along the 
river bank were a few log cabins of settlers, a few 
trading posts, and an occasional military fort. 

While they much desired to have the sand-bars 
cleared away from their river front, the residents of 
St. Louis were not as considerate toward the young 
lieutenant as they might have been. Although Lee 
had been sent from Washington to render this 
service, they watched his going and coming ; they 
commented on his methods, and told one another 
that he was very slow. Many of them felt that 
they could instruct him as to things which they 
believed he ought to know. Their unfavorable 
criticisms grew bolder and bolder ; there was even 
talk of asking Washington authorities to recall 
Lee, as inefficient. Indeed, threats were uttered 
by many ; and it is reported that some of the more 
violent citizens actually got a cannon into position 
where they could fire upon the working party, but 
no shots were ever fired. 

Such adverse comment might have disconcerted 
or frightened some men, but not Robert E. Lee. 
He knew what he knew ; his nerves were fine and 
strong ; he smiled back at their frowns and replied 
to their scornful demands with the calm, courteous 
request that if they would be patient the river 
would soon be navigable. 



ONE OF THE WORLD'S WORKERS 39 

Lee's fellow-officer, Lieutenant Meigs, later 
General Meigs, has left a record of Lee's appearance 
at this time. He says : "Lee was in the full vigor 
of his youthful strength, with a noble and com- 
manding presence, and an admirable, graceful, 
athletic figure. No one ever ventured to take a 
liberty with him. For, although kind and generous 
with his subordinates, admired by all women and 
respected by all men, he was also a model of a sol- 
dier and the beau ideal of a Christian man." 

Such praise as this is generously unstinted, but 
authentic and just, without doubt. Probably the 
"noble and commanding presence" helped Lee to 
hold in check that rough, border community whose 
opposition might easily have turned to violence had 
opportunity arisen. 

Lieutenant Lee's method of clearing the ob- 
structed channel, after he had charted it and re- 
ported his results to Washington, was to remove 
some of the reefs and bowlders by blasting, and then 
to force the current of the river back into its original 
channel by driving piles and constructing cribs 
and wing-dams. Thus, through his knowledge of 
river currents, and the wash of river beds, he forced 
the river to do the work of clearing itself. The 
eddies produced by the piles and cribs caused de- 
posits of sand between the dams, and gradually 



4 o ROBERT E. LEE 

filled in the shallower places, compelling the river 
to deepen and fill its former channel with navigable 
water. 

Since those early days great changes from this 
condition have taken place at St. Louis, as the pop- 
ulation has increased and the city has demanded a 
larger and larger use of the mighty river. But Lee, 
in 1837-40, accomplished what was asked of him, 
and navigation, ample for the small city's needs, 
was established. 

The most direct knowledge we have of the details 
of his daily life — the lighter part of it — comes 
to us in a letter which he wrote at this period to a 
friend. A portion of this letter is here given. It 
helps to make us see the human and fun-loving side 
of Lee's nature ; and it also gives us an interesting 
little picture of the primitive customs of those 
rough, frontier days. 

My dear Lieutenant: — 

Upon my return I found your letter. It did me good to 
hear about the boys. I now contemplate you as one of the 
stars on General Scott's staff. We have been at Galena ; 
while there we met General Brooke, and, besides the pleas- 
ure of seeing him again, we had much sport in fighting over 
again the battles of Old Point Comfort. But this was done 
most temperately, for the General has forsworn strong pota- 
tions, and our refreshments consisted of soda-water and ice 
cream, delicacies which the General had not touched for 



ONE OF THE WORLD'S WORKERS 41 

years; and four times a day we pay our respects to the 
fountain and the freezer. 

R has been away at Dubuque, having spare time on 

his hands; he plunged into an excursion party going to the 
Falls of St. Anthony, as they came along in fine spirits, 
music playing and colors flying. Would you like to know 
how R was clothed ? A little short-sleeved, short- 
vested brown linen coat, well acquainted with the wash- 
board and much too small for him; a faded blue calico 
shirt ; domestic cloth pants ; a pair of commodious brogans ; 
and a hat, torn, broken, and discolored. Now hear him 
laugh, as he presents himself for a dance, arms akimbo, and 
you have him before you! Whom should he meet here but 
"Hole in the Day," his Indian friend, and his faithful 
" Red She " who showed him his old blanket which she had 
religiously wrapped herself in. But, on her examining his 
fingers, her good copper rings were not there. He com- 
plains bitterly of his present waste of life, looks thin and 
dispirited, and is acquainted with the cry of every child in 
Iowa. He is also well practised in pork-eating and promis- 
cuous sleeping. 

News has recently arrived that the Sioux have fallen 
upon a party of Chippewas, and taken one hundred and 
thirty scalps. " Hole in the Day," R's friend, had gone on 
in advance and so escaped. It is expected that the Chip- 
pewa chief, who is an able man, will take ample revenge; 
and this may cause more trouble. 

B is well, at the Rapids, with the whole fleet ; and I 

hope they are jerking out the rocks, fast. 

Another letter: Lee again writes, from Louis- 
ville, to his wife, who was much in his thoughts, as 



42 ROBERT E. LEE 

were the little children who had been added to the 
home life. Most of his home letters show his devo- 
tion to wife and children, and this affection made 
him love all little ones, while they, in turn, were 
always drawn to him. 

Louisville, September 4th, 1840. 
My dear Mary: — 

You do not know how much I have missed you and the 
children ; to be alone, in a crowd, is very solitary. A few 
evenings ago, feeling lonely, I got a horse and took a ride. 
On returning, I saw a number of little girls, dressed in their 
white frocks, with their hair plaited and tied up in ribbons, 
running and chasing one another in all directions. I 
counted twenty-three, of nearly the same size. Then, as I 
drew up my horse to admire the spectacle, a man appeared 
at the door with the twenty-fourth in his arms. 

" My friend," said I, " are all these your children ? " 

"Yes," he replied; "there are nine more in the house, 
and this is the youngest." 

Upon further inquiry, however, I found that they were 
only temporarily his, and that they had been invited to a 
party at his house. He said that, as I came up, he had 
been admiring them; and that he wished for a million 
dollars, that the children might all be his in reality. I do 
not think the eldest exceeded seven or eight years. It was 
one of the prettiest sights I have seen in the West, and 
perhaps in my life. 



CHAPTER V 
In the Mexican War 

The work accomplished in the Mississippi Valley 
was of so high an order that it added to the reputa- 
tion of the young lieutenant of engineers. He was 
promoted to a captaincy, and stationed at an im- 
portant point, Fort Hamilton, in New York Harbor. 
It was now Captain Lee's duty to make as strong 
as possible the fortifications of that growing city. 

And this he did. He brought to bear upon the 
problems of harbor defense all the learning he had 
gained during his distinguished career at West 
Point, and all the judgment he had acquired by 
his hard experience at St. Louis. As the artist, 
in the well-known story, " mixed his paints with 
brains," so Robert E. Lee always mixed his acts, 
even the most commonplace of them, with a strong 
sense of duty ; and the result was, — a continuous 
record of excellence. 

But more exciting days were at hand. Captain 
Lee was to make use of his skill on real fields of 
conflict. Difficulties had arisen between the United 

43 



44 ROBERT E. LEE 

States and Mexico. What is now the state of Texas 
had been part of Mexico. It had been settled by 
strong, determined men, who soon desired to be- 
come a part of the great republic of the New 
World ; but the Mexican Government did not wish 
to lose so good a piece of territory. Then revolt 
followed, and warfare. Those were the days of 
fierce fighters, the days of Sam Houston and 
Colonel Bowie (inventor of the bowie knife) and 
the defense of the Alamo fortress. If this book 
were a history of Mexico or Texas, we might follow 
the exciting achievements of Colonel Fremont, 
General Phil Kearny, and General Zachary Taylor, 
"Old Rough and Ready/' as he was affectionately 
called by his soldiers. Suffice it to say that events 
so shaped themselves that after General Taylor 
had won the battles of Palo Alto, Buena Vista, and 
others, in 1846-47, the officials at Washington de- 
cided to send General Winfield Scott, commander- 
in-chief of the national forces, to attack Mexico 
farther south, nearer the seat of government at 
Mexico City. 

A landing was to be made at Vera Cruz, a seaport 
on the Gulf of Mexico, opposite the capital. Then 
would follow the advance across rough, hostile 
country, full of foes, and an attack on the one chief 
stronghold of the country. For such work as this 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 45 

the skill of military engineers was essential; and 
General Scott gathered a notable list of young 
engineers'about him ; among these were McClellan, 
Beauregard, and Lee, all famous afterward in the 
Civil War. 

It was at this time that our young captain (yet 
no longer young, for he was about forty years old) 
executed a scouting feat which rarely has been sur- 
passed in war experiences. One day he heard 
General Wool express anxiety about the position 
and plans of the Mexican general, Santa Anna. 
" There is a rumor," said General Wool, "that he 
has collected an immense army, and with it has 
crossed the mountain range, being now not twenty 
miles away from us. It is very needful that we 
know just where he is, and what is his purpose." 

Captain Lee was the only man of the group of 
officers who responded. Saluting, he asked, " Shall 
I reconnoiter, and report to you as soon as possible ? " 

His commanding officer answered promptly and 
gladly, " There is nothing I would like more, Cap- 
tain Lee. But there is much danger between here 
and those mountain peaks." And he pointed with 
his gloved hand toward the southwest, where the 
sky line was lofty and mist-enshrouded. 

"Yes, doubtless there is," replied Captain Lee, 
"but I'll take the risk. We should know, for a cer- 



46 ROBERT E. LEE 

tainty, about that Mexican force. I must have 
some sort of a guide. Where are those two men 
that were under guard this forenoon ? " 

"They are a father and son," explained one of 
the officers, "and we thought, as we questioned 
them, that they knew this country very well." 

"Those are the men for me," declared Lee. 
"Let's have a look at them." So he led the way 
to the guard quarters. 

The two men were of the peon or laboring class, 
ignorant and hardy, but anxious for their own 
safety. Lee had a fair knowledge of Spanish, and 
he questioned them. "You are the father? And 
you are the son ? " 

"Yes, yes, sir," and they bowed respectfully. 
The son was about twenty and looked not only the 
stronger of the two, but the more intelligent. 

"You know all the country around here?" asked 
Captain Lee. 

"Yes, yes, sir," came the young man's reply. 

"Can you guide me safely ten or fifteen miles in 
that direction?" and Lee waved his hand toward 
the misty mountain range. 

"Yes, yes!" The young fellow spoke eagerly. 

"Will you do that? And come back with me to 
this place?" asked the captain, with a searching 
glance from his keen brown eyes into the somewhat 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 47 

shifty ones before him. The answer was again in 
the affirmative; and Captain Lee ordered, "Come 
with me ! Have no fear ! " 

Then the older man threw his arms about his son's 
neck, and broke into lamentations. Upon this Gen- 
eral Wool, who had been silently looking on, grimly 
nodded his head and smiled. " That's the thing," 
he said quietly. "They really are father and son. 
That helps us. Here ! Officer of the guard !" 

The sergeant, running up, saluted; and the 
general gave this order, in Spanish, looking sternly 
at the trembling peons. "Officer, keep this older 
man under close watch ! His son ought to bring 
back Captain Lee by to-morrow night at the latest. 
If he does not bring him back, safe and sound, — 
shoot the father !" And the old general turned on 
his heel and departed. 

That was the application of martial law to a 
serious problem; it was drastic treatment; but 
every officer present knew that it greatly increased 
the chances of Captain Lee's safe reconnoissance 
and return. 

In half an hour the daring captain rode out of 
camp on a spirited horse of good Spanish strain ; 
the guide, Manuelo, rode beside him on a mustang. 
A small force of cavalry followed to escort them as 
far as the picket-line, a mile outside the camp. 



48 ROBERT E. LEE 

The captain had searched carefully the loose flap- 
ping garments of his guide and knew him to be 
wholly unarmed. In addition, he showed the 
Mexican his own pair of pistols ; the two under- 
stood each other. 

The journey was over a rough, wooded country, 
and by some error Captain Lee and his guide be- 
came separated from the escorting cavalry, and 
pushed on rapidly. Lee now ordered the young 
Mexican to ride a few yards in front of him, 
tapping upon the butt of one of his pistols while 
making the request. The guide, so far, seemed 
quite familar with the region, and was apparently 
disposed to act in good faith. 

Night was coming on, but there was a full moon ; 
and, on the whole, this made the expedition safer 
than in open daylight. Captain Lee now discov- 
ered in the soft earth of the roadway the signs of 
heavy travel. He could distinguish tracks of 
mules and horses, likewise deep ruts made by 
wagons. He could not be certain that the wheel- 
tracks were made by artillery. General Wool 
had expected such to be found. 

A more hasty and superficial scout than Lee 
would have decided that he had found evidence of 
the recent passage of a heavy force of soldiers. 
Our captain, however, was not of that sort. He 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 49 

resolved not to turn back until he had actually- 
seen the enemy's pickets. So, forward rode the 
two men, the guide growing more and more uneasy, 
suggesting over and over again that they venture 
no further. Still on they went, though more slowly, 
and finally they saw the camp-fires of what seemed 
a large body of men on a hillside directly in front of 
them. At this point they crossed a stream, and 
the Mexican begged his captor to turn back, saying 
that farther on Santa Anna was encamped with 
all his troops. 

Still the fearless, resolute officer persisted ; and, 
in his kindness of heart, he said to the guide : " You 
remain here, I go on. I come back, soon; one 
hour; you must not run away; remember, your 
father!" And he tapped his pistol significantly. 
Alert and determined, pressed on the American 
captain. That was Lee's way. Always to be 
"dead sure" of a thing, with as little guesswork 
as possible. Suddenly he saw, by the bright 
moonlight, what looked like the white tents of an 
encampment about a quarter of a mile ahead. Lee 
walked his horse, keeping in the shadows, expect- 
ing each moment to be challenged by a picket. 
Should such a challenge come, he had made up his 
mind to wheel and gallop, taking chances of being 
hit by a bullet. 



50 ROBERT E. LEE 

Now came an utter surprise. As he drew near 
the white objects Lee saw that they were — not 
tents of the enemy, but sheep, a large flock of sheep, 
destined to furnish Santa Anna's men with meat. 
At the same moment he made out several small 
groups of men, evidently shepherds, who strolled 
about with no thought of danger. This was the 
"camp" for which he had been looking. Riding 
swiftly ahead, he questioned the shepherds and 
discovered that Santa Anna's army had not come 
across the mountain range. 

With this definite information Lee now returned 
to his guide, whose fear for his father's life held 
him fixed to the spot ; and they rode back together 
to General Wool's camp to report. There the two 
horsemen were received with joy, and by nobody 
with more joy (said Lee, whenever he recounted 
the adventure) than by the old Mexican father, who 
had feared the worst for his son. 

Although he had traveled forty miles that night, 
the vigorous captain rested but three hours. Then 
he volunteered to lead a body of cavalry over the 
same route toward the mountains, stopping only 
at their base, where satisfactory information was 
gained as to the Mexican forces. 

Not long after this adventure Captain Lee was 
summoned to assist General Scott in fortifying the 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 51 

seaport of Vera Cruz. Busy as Lee was in those 
days, his thoughts turned repeatedly toward his 
loved ones at home ; and, amid all the demands for 
his services, he found time to write many letters 
to the little family at Arlington. One letter, after 
expressing his affection for them, says: "We have 
not met with any serious resistance. There has 
been a great whetting of knives, sharpening of 
swords, and grinding of bayonets, ever since we 
reached the Rio Grande River, but the Mexicans 
who were guarding the passage retired on our ap- 
proach." 

Here is a portion of another letter written to his 
two boys, one of them nine years old, the other 
thirteen ; it is dated December 2d, and naturally 
touches upon the subject of Christmas. 

" . . . I hope that good Santa Claus will fill my 
Rob's stocking to-night, and that Mildred's, Agnes's, 
and Anna's will break down with good things. I 
do not know what he may have for you and Mary 
[another daughter], but if he only leaves you one 
half of all I wish, you will want for nothing. I 
have frequently thought, my dear boys, that if I 
had you here, one on each side of me, riding on 
ponies such as I could get for you, that I would be 
positively happy." 

Evidently Captain Lee realized that his boys, 



52 ROBERT E. LEE 

like himself, were very fond of horses. One of 
them had written his father about this matter, 
and Lee in reply sent this letter: "The Mexicans 
raise a large quantity of ponies, donkeys, and mules ; 
and most of their corn and other produce is carried 
on the backs of these animals. The little donkeys 
will carry two hundred pounds on their backs, and 
the mules will carry three hundred, for long dis- 
tances over the mountains. The ponies are raised 
for riding, costing from ten to fifty dollars, accord- 
ing to size and quality. I have three horses. 
' Creole' is my favorite; she is a golden dun in 
color, active as a deer, and carries me easily over 
ditches and gullies. So far she has never hesitated 
at anything I have put her at." 

Another letter to his wife tells her that he had 
planned to write to her on Christmas Day; but 
that, just after breakfast, orders were received to 
prepare for battle, intelligence having reached the 
commanding general that the enemy was coming. 
"The troops stood to their arms, and I lay on the 
grass, with my sorrel mare saddled, at my side, 
and my telescope directed at the pass in the moun- 
tains. The Mexicans, however, did not appear. 
Many regrets were expressed at Santa Anna's 
having spoiled our Christmas dinner, for which 
ample preparations had been made. The little 



IN THE MEXICAN WAR 53 

roasters remained tied to the tent-pins, wondering 
at their deferred fate, and the headless turkeys 
retained their plumage unscathed." 

After this bit of playful writing Lee adds these 
tender words to the wife he loves : " We have had 
many happy Christmases together, you and I. 
This is the first time we have been separated, at 
this holy time, since our marriage. I hope it 
does not interfere with your happiness, surrounded 
as you are by father, mother, children, and dear 
friends. I therefore trust that you are well and 
happy, and that this is the last time I shall be 
absent from you, during my life. May God pre- 
serve and bless you till then, and forever after, 
is my constant prayer." 

Such letters as these — and there are many of 
them — show the warm, unselfish heart of our 
captain. In a letter written in the uttermost con- 
fidence and privacy to his brother, Sidney Smith 
Lee, a lieutenant in the navy, he says: "Your 
commendations of the conduct of our men during 
this war have filled me with pleasure. They 
justly deserve it. No danger is too great for them 
to seek, and no labor too great for them to under- 
take. . . . The great cause of our success lies in 
our leader, General Scott. His stout heart has 
held us up to our work ; and his indomitable cour- 



54 ROBERT E. LEE 

age has urged us forward, while some held back, 
and others croaked." 

This was meant for his brother's eyes alone. 
General Scott, who had been blamed by some 
critics, never saw it ; and quite from his own keen 
observation he recognized the rare capacity of 
Captain Lee, and mentioned him by name in 
several of his written reports, even urging that the 
Virginia captain was the one man best fitted to 
succeed him. 



CHAPTER VI 

Deserved Promotions 

As General Fitzhugh Lee has expressed it, in his 
biography of his famous uncle, " Engineers are as 
necessary to an army as sails to a ship ; they locate 
lines of battle, select positions for the artillery, 
make reconnoissances, and, upon their reports, the 
movements of the army are based. They draw 
topographical maps, construct roads and bridges, 
and guide troops to the points which they have 
previously reconnoitered." 

Thus it will be seen that General Scott's corps 
of engineers was extremely necessary for his success 
in a strange country like Mexico. Their work 
began at Vera Cruz ; Captain Lee was ordered to 
throw up such earthworks as were needed to 
protect a battery which was to be manned by the 
sailors of a certain man-of-war, using the sailors 
themselves for workmen. He obeyed these orders 
in his usual earnest and thorough fashion ; in person 
he directed the digging and urged the sailors on to 
the limit of their capacity. Soon there was grum- 

55 



56 ROBERT E. LEE 

bling in their ranks ; occasionally Captain Lee was 
allowed to hear a little of it ; one man muttered 
that he didn't " enlist in this war to dig in the dirt," 
while another remarked that he " didn't mind 
work, but he hated being under orders from a 
landlubber." Lee decided that he would pay no 
attention to these remarks, if he could help it. 
Finally the captain of the man-of-war himself 
came up to Lee and remonstrated. 

"I don't think my boys like this kind of work," 
he began. 

"That may be, " was Lee's reply. " We all have 
to do some things which we don't like." 

But the old sea captain was not to be shut off in 
that way. "I tell you," he continued, "my boys 
are mad clear through; they consider it an out- 
rage to be made to dig in the dirt. Now — what 
would you do if they struck work — they might !" 

Captain Lee drew himself up, not giving way an 
inch. "They are acting under orders from the 
commanding general," he answered, "exactly as I 
am. If they disobey those orders, I shall put them 
under arrest. And for such men there is always 
court-martial." 

"You don't seem to understand," persisted the 
older officer, now somewhat uneasy. "They are 
good men, these boys of mine, and they are here to 



DESERVED PROMOTIONS 57 

fight. But they don't need any piles of dirt to 
hide behind. They only want to get at the Mexi- 
cans ; and let me tell you, even if you do get these 
earthworks all set up, my boys won't stay behind 
them. They'll climb out, and have a fair stand- 
up fight, on the other side of them." 

Nevertheless, the work went on ; and the earth- 
works were finished. Just as the task was com- 
pleted, the Mexicans opened fire on the Americans ; 
and glad indeed were the grumbling sailor-boys to 
dive into the trenches, behind the works, and to 
lie low. 

One of the officers who heard about this incident 
recalled it years later in the Civil War, when a 
hungry, ragged soldier, who had hastily dug a 
rifle pit for himself, lay behind it, as bullets whizzed 
a few feet over his head, calling out to a friend 
similarly placed, "Say, Bill, over there, I don't 
begrudge nary spoonful of dirt I put on this little 
bank." 

The Vera Cruz incident was not wholly closed, 
for a week later the man-of-war captain, meeting 
Captain Lee, said to him in frank, sailor fashion, 
"Well, I reckon you were right about those earth- 
works. I suppose they did save a good many of my 
boys from being killed or wounded. But, you see, 
we don't have much use for dirt banks on ship- 



58 ROBERT E. LEE 

board. What we want is clear decks and an open 
sea. The fact is, Captain," — this in friendly con- 
fidence from the bluff old salt — "I don't like this 
land fighting ; it isn't clean. " 

We who read about far-off campaigns and battles 
are in danger of forgetting their privations and 
horrors. Several times, in letters from Mexico, 
Lee alludes to these things, yet always with an 
evident desire to shield his family and friends from 
the pain of them, even by second-hand knowledge. 
During one of the assaults at Vera Cruz, Captain 
Lee stood near his sailor brother, Lieutenant Sidney 
Smith Lee. He writes as follows : "The first day 
this battery opened, Smith served one of the guns ; 
I had placed the battery and was there to direct its 
fire. No matter where I turned, my eyes reverted 
to him ; and I stood by his gun whenever I was not 
needed elsewhere. 0, I felt awfully; and what 
would I have done had he been cut down before me ! 
He preserved his usual cheerfulness and I could see 
his white teeth gleaming, through all the din and 
smoke. The shells thrown from our battery were 
constant and regular, beautiful in their flight, and 
destructive in their fall. It was horrible. My heart 
bled for the inhabitants. I heard from Smith to- 
day ; he is quite well." Thus spoke, impulsively 
and frankly, the human side of the man. 



DESERVED PROMOTIONS 59 

As soon as a safe footing had been established 
at Vera Cruz, the plans of the campaign were 
clear in outline, but the engineer corps must fill 
in the details. Mexico City lay directly inland, 
one hundred miles away, seven thousand feet above 
the sea level of Vera Cruz. General Scott's duty 
was to get his army to that city with the smallest 
possible loss of American life. To the engineers 
again fell the task of reconnoitering and mapping 
out the safest route across those hills and densely 
wooded plains. The difficulties were very great, 
but the campaign had to be carried out. 

And it was carried out, to the full. Step by 
step the American army advanced. One after 
another, within a period of a few months, in the 
year 1847, followed the battles of Cerro Gordo, Con- 
treras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey and Chapulte- 
pec. And these were fought victoriously for the 
United States arms. Our dauntless Virginia cap- 
tain was now no longer a captain ; because of his 
bravery and skill he had been promoted three times, 
and he came out of the Mexican war a colonel. 

That Lee had richly earned these promotions 
we have ample proof. Yet, brilliant and daring 
as were his exploits, he was wounded but once, 
and then only slightly. A few days of rest and 
care restored him to good health. 



60 ROBERT E. LEE 

In one of his scouting trips Lee nearly lost his 
life. He was working his way entirely alone 
through a piece of thick woods, watching a company 
of Mexican soldiers slightly in advance of him. 
Something threw the Mexicans into a panic, and 
all scattered and ran. It was like the bursting of 
a shell. At one moment they were all together, 
as one unit. The next moment the group flew 
apart, and the Mexicans spread over considerable 
ground. 

Our Virginian found himself in a desperate 
position. If discovered by one of them, he would 
have lost his life in a most summary manner. But 
he was not yet perceived. The woods were dense 
and the light dim. Our soldier-scout flung one 
swift, discerning glance about him. There, behind 
that thicket, bridging the narrow stream, lay a 
huge log. 

Lee ran, on the instant, slipped behind the 
thicket, and lay down beneath the log, packing 
himself we may be sure into the smallest possible 
space. Luckily, the Mexicans' panic was of brief 
duration, and the men all came straggling back, 
looking distrustfully about them. Captain Lee, 
beneath the log, could hear two of the Mexicans 
near him. On they came, nearer and nearer, until 
they actually seated themselves on one end of the 



DESERVED PROMOTIONS 6l 

big log under which he lay. Gathering all his 
forces of self-control he waited. It was as critical 
a moment as Robert E. Lee ever passed; one 
careless movement of his muscles, and the con- 
federacy of "The Sixties " would have been without 
its great leader. 

But not one movement did he make, and the 
talkative Mexicans had no suspicion of his pres- 
ence; had their eyes lighted upon him, or their 
ears detected the slightest rustle — well, the alert 
American officer might have "got the drop on 
them," as the rough frontiersmen phrase it; but 
more likely he would have been shot, if not by one 
of them, by some of their comrades not far away. 

Finally the two Mexicans arose and went their 
way ; but the captain lay "frozen," as do the wild 
animals of the forest, making no effort to rise until 
many minutes had passed. Lee knew too well 
how some one of the enemy might have suspected 
his being near, might have seen him speeding to 
cover, and might now be lying in ambush, rifle 
ready, watching for any slightest sign. 

At last he judged it safe to move ; he did so with 
caution, and made his way back, with the utmost 
possible speed, inside the line of American pickets. 

This was but one of Lee's many narrow escapes 
during the Mexican campaign. Many years after- 



62 ROBERT E. LEE 

ward General Scott was testifying before a court 
of inquiry, and he made this statement; "In the 
Mexican campaign, Captain Robert E. Lee, of the 
Engineer Corps, accomplished the greatest feat of 
physical and moral daring which was performed, to 
the best of my knowledge, by any individual in our 
army." 

What was that daring deed? Fortunately we 
have a record of it, in considerable detail. 

General Scott's forces had become somewhat 
scattered, as the army came up toward Contreras ; 
and it was necessary for him to communicate with 
them, and to find some direct route by which to 
join them. Between Scott's division and the main 
body lay what was called "La Pedregal," a stretch 
of country heaped with masses of volcanic rock, 
so difficult to cross that Santa Anna gave little 
attention to guarding it, saying that he did not 
believe even a goat could make its way across it. 
General Scott says in his report: "Seven of our 
officers had tried to get across this piece of lava- 
strewn country, unsuccessfully. Then Captain Lee, 
of the Engineers, volunteered to make the attempt. 
He made it, and at midnight he returned, bearing 
a message from the separated brigades, under 
General Smith." 

Captain Lee not only succeeded in making the 




Robert E. Lee. 
From a daguerreotype taken at the close of the Mexican War. 



DESERVED PROMOTIONS 63 

journey across this wild, waste region, leaping 
from rock to rock, risking his life on his sure-footed- 
ness, but he returned over that rock-strewn area 
in almost complete darkness and wholly alone, 
with the risk of encountering enemies, or of slipping 
into one of the many chasms which beset his path. 
General Scott called this the most daring feat of 
the war; he added it to the already long list of 
brilliant achievements which he generously loved to 
rehearse in connection with his gallant Virginia 
officer. Indeed, General Scott said plainly that 
the capture of Mexico City, on September 14th, 
1847, was > m a considerable degree, due to the 
efforts of Colonel Robert E. Lee. 



CHAPTER VII 
In Command at West Point 

After the Mexican War was ended, Colonel 
Lee returned to his home in Arlington. We may 
be sure that the reunion of the family in the old 
Custis homestead was a very happy one. His son, 
Captain Robert E. Lee, Jr., has described the meet- 
ing, although at that time he was but a child of three 
or four, whom his father had not seen for more than 
two years. " Young Robert" narrates how he had 
been dressed in his best for the occasion, and, with 
the rest of the family, he eagerly awaited the arrival 
of the distinguished soldier. Young Robert tells us 
that he had a little friend staying with him, a child of 
about his own age. When Colonel Lee, in his round 
of greetings, came upon these two tiny individuals, 
he exclaimed eagerly, " Where is my little boy?" 
And, in the excitement of the moment, mistaking 
the children, he kissed the little playmate. In the 
soldier's mind the picture of his child had grown 
misty during his two years' absence, yet the child 
felt the mistake deeply. It was his first conscious 

64 



IN COMMAND AT WEST POINT 65 

meeting with his father ; but later the two, father 
and son, grew rapidly into knowledge and love of 
each other. 

One of the important members of the family 
was "Spec," a black-and-tan dog; he, on this 
occasion, instantly recognized his master, begging 
for caresses which the colonel readily gave. Spec's 
mother had been rescued from the Narrows in 
New York Bay when Lee was at Fort Hamilton. 
She had probably fallen from some passing vessel 
and had been given up as lost. The mother-dog's 
name was "Dart," and she was long in the family 
of the Lees, paying for her keep by effectually 
clearing the stables of rats which had formerly 
infested them. 

Spec, the impudent, fascinating offspring of 
Dart, was born at Fort Hamilton, and had soon 
become even more of a family pet than his mother 
had been. Colonel Lee, writing home during the 
campaigns, often sent special messages to Spec. 
Whether the little dog ever got these messages 
through his clever brain we cannot say, but he 
certainly knew his master when he returned. 
Young Robert tells us that his father would never 
allow Spec's ears and tail to be cropped, in the 
cruel fashion of those days. 

"When Spec," writes Robert, Jr., "was fully 



66 ROBERT E. LEE 

grown, he went with us everywhere; he even 
accompanied us to church. As his presence always 
distracted the attention of the little people in the 
congregation, my father determined to leave him at 
home. So, on the next Sunday morning, Spec was 
shut up in a room in the second story. Then the 
family, all relieved in mind, started on their walk 
to church. They were just about to enter the 
edifice when they heard joyful barks behind them ; 
and turning, they saw Spec capering with joy, and 
confident that all would be glad to see him. For 
Spec had looked longingly out of the window and, 
finally, seeing that the family were not going to 
return for him, he had risked a jump to the ground, 
a distance of more than twenty feet, had landed 
safely, and soon caught up with the party. After 
that Spec was allowed to go with them regularly. 
My father was very fond of him and talked to him 
as if he were one of us." Later, when burdened 
with cares, Lee was sometimes thought by strangers 
to be reserved, even austere. But he was sympa- 
thetic, not only with his friends, but toward dogs 
and horses and cats, — even toward a tiny mouse 
which he had encouraged as a pet, while in camp 
in Mexico. 

Colonel Lee's first appointment, on his return 
from Mexico, was in April, 1849, to the construction 



IN COMMAND AT WEST POINT 67 

of Fort Carroll on the Patapsco River, about eight 
miles from Baltimore. He continued at this work 
three years, during which his family lived in 
Baltimore, on Madison Street; he was greatly 
admired by every one, most of all by his own wife 
and children who knew him best. Robert Lee, Jr., 
has told us: "When my father went out in 
the evening, with my mother, we children were 
allowed to sit up and see them off. My father was 
always ready on time ; but my mother often was 
a little late ; and I remember well seeing my father, 
in full uniform, waiting for her; he would some- 
times chide her, in a playful way, then with a 
bright smile he would bid us children 'good night,' 
and I would go to sleep with this beautiful picture 
in my mind, golden epaulets and all, — but chiefly 
the epaulets!" 

On the first of September, 1852, Colonel Lee 
was appointed Superintendent of the United States 
Military Academy at West Point. This brought 
him back to familiar scenes. What nobler type 
of man can we imagine than this distinguished 
soldier, now forty-five years old, in the full vigor of 
his powers, mental and physical. His splendid rec- 
ord in his profession was well known to the cadets ; 
and as they came in contact with him, day after 
day, he justified all the admiration they felt. He 



68 ROBERT E. LEE 

was strict, yet he had those friendly human quali- 
ties which made the cadets trust and love him. 

To illustrate this, we may recall a situation which 
Robert Lee, Jr. has narrated. "It was against 
the rules," he said, "for any cadet to pass beyond 
certain well-defined lines. Of course they did, 
sometimes, and, when caught outside those limits, 
they were punished by receiving so many demerits. 
My father, riding out with me one afternoon, came 
suddenly up with three cadets far beyond the limits 
set by regulations. They immediately leaped over 
a long wall on the farther side of the road and 
disappeared down a ravine. We rode on a minute 
or two in silence and then my father said to me, 
'Did you know those young men? But no — if 
you do, don't say so. I wish boys would do what 
is right ; it would be so much easier for all of us/ 

" He knew he would have to report them, but not 
being certain who they were I suppose he hoped to 
give them the benefit of the doubt. I never heard 
him mention the matter again ; but one of the 
three cadets asked me, the following day, if 'the 
Colonel' had recognized them; and I told him 
exactly what had occurred." 

Of course such leniency won the hearts of the 
young men and helped to make them respond more 
willingly when he tightened the screws of military 



IN COMMAND AT WEST POINT 69 

discipline, — as he did, during his term of com- 
mand, in several particulars. 

Robert E. Lee, Jr., at this time was ten years 
old ; he relates that it was the custom of his father 
and mother to invite, every Saturday, a certain 
number of cadets to their house for supper. The 
ten-year-old boy, young as he was, could see how 
shy and easily embarrassed many of those raw 
young fellows became, on being ushered into the 
ease and elegance of the Lee home. He noticed, 
also, how tactful and kind his father was, quieting 
their uneasiness, and, by his own serene manner, 
gradually making them all greatly enjoy the occa- 
sion. 

The professor of drawing and painting, at the 
Academy, could not help wishing that he might 
paint the portrait of so distinguished a man as 
the superintendent. Colonel Lee, however, never 
could bear to have his picture taken ; he could not 
assume that "pleasant expression'' which is usually 
called for ; and he was even more reluctant about 
the portrait. Still, the professor was urgent, and 
at last a few sittings were given, though not enough 
to enable the professor to finish the painting, then 
and there. He was forced to complete his work as 
best he could by taking glimpses of the colonel, at 
odd times, as occasion offered. 



CHAPTER VIII 
Colonel Lee's Indian Campaign 

The action of the national government in con- 
quering Mexico had resulted in adding considerable 
territory and many thousands of citizens to the 
area and population of the Great Republic of 
the Western World. New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, 
Nevada, and California were now included in the 
United States, first as territories with a territorial 
form of government, and later, as states, with the 
proper forms of state government. 

This increased territory needed military protec- 
tion far more than did older portions of the country. 
For on its borders were many tribes of Indians, 
more or less hostile, who had repeatedly given 
trouble. In April, 1855, Colonel Lee was appointed 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the " Second Cavalry," a 
regiment recruited in Missouri, and intended to 
suppress the attacks of the Indians along the south- 
west frontier. Lee therefore resigned his position 
at West Point and accepted this new command. 

70 



COLONEL LEE'S INDIAN CAMPAIGN 71 

It was an unwritten law in the army that if an 
officer declined a promotion he thereby confessed 
incapacity for that higher grade of service. But 
Colonel Lee was ready for his new duties; the 
confining routine of the Academy must have been 
irksome to a man of his vigor and independence ; 
besides, he had been given full cavalry training 
in his youth and he was always extremely fond of 
horses. So he took his family back to the old home 
at Arlington, and then went first to Louisville, 
Kentucky, where he assumed command, and next 
to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, to gather and drill 
his recruits. He must have found some raw 
material, but he was the one man who could 
successfully get it into shape. Many of the new 
men lacked proper clothing and shoes, through no 
fault of their own. The supplies had not come; 
and, as they lined up on parade, they presented a 
grotesque sight. One particular man Lee referred 
to in a letter home. He was clad in dirty, tattered 
shirt and trousers, a soiled white hat, shoes that 
gaped wearily as from fatigue, and other garments 
to match. 

"So you have come to join the regiment?" 
asked the lieutenant-colonel, pleasantly. 

The man saluted awkwardly, and with a grin 
replied, "I reckon that's about it, Colonel.'' 



72 ROBERT E. LEE 

"Are those the best clothes you've got?" con- 
tinued Colonel Lee. 

"They're my best, and they're all I've got," 
said the recruit, with perfect good nature. 

"Yes, I understand. Still, you might wash 
them and mend them." 

The man's grin widened. "Yer see, they're all 
I've got; and if I took 'em off, I wouldn't look just 
right, now, round here, would I?" 

The fellow was facetious yet respectful. The 
colonel smiled, despite himself. He could not 
have such an untidy man in the ranks, yet it 
certainly would not do to have the man going 
about unclothed. He hesitated, then he said, 
pleasantly ; 

"Here, this is what you can do. Go down to 
the river, and wash everything you've got on. 
Then sit on the bank and watch the passing steam- 
boats until your clothes have dried; before you 
put them on, you had better mend them. So take 
a needle and thread down with you." There was 
authority in the officer's voice, although he smiled 
as he spoke. And the untidy recruit took the 
order in good part, and, saluting, went away. 

The next day, at inspection, there stood the man, 
grinning broadly and proudly, with his clothes 
clean, mended, and presentable. His toes stuck 



COLONEL LEE'S INDIAN CAMPAIGN 73 

through the shoes, but, on the whole, he was much 
improved. So, when his commanding officer com- 
plimented him, the two understood each other 
perfectly. Thenceforth this particular recruit was 
one of Lee's warmest admirers. 

Later, Lee wrote to his wife from San Antonio, 
Texas, where his regiment had been ordered, 
" To-morrow we set out for Fort Mason ; my bill of 
fare for the journey will be a boiled ham, hard 
bread, a bottle of molasses, and a bottle of coffee 
extract." Not luxurious living, truly; yet quite 
sufficient for the commander of a cavalry regiment 
going to fight Indians. He ordered a rapid ad- 
vance, soon afterward, in pursuit of a roving 
band of Comanches who had suddenly descended 
upon a settlement, killing and scalping men, cap- 
turing women, and driving off horses and cattle. 
These Comanches were extremely fine horsemen 
and eager to fight if they held even a slight advan- 
tage in numbers or position. Usually, however, 
as in this case, after a raid on the settlers they 
broke up into small groups, and scattered in several 
directions, coming together again only after they 
had put a dozen or twenty miles between them- 
selves and their pursuers. 

In a letter to his wife in August, 1856, Lee says : 
"I hope you enjoyed your usual celebration of the 



74 ROBERT E. LEE 

Fourth of July. Mine was spent, after a march 
of thirty miles along a branch of the river Brazos, 
under the shade of my blanket which I had spread 
on four sticks. The sun was fiery hot, the air like 
the blast of a furnace, and all the water brackish 
and unendurable. Still, my loyalty to my country 
and my faith in the future continue as ardent as 
ever." 

Most of our knowledge of Lee's experiences 
during his Indian campaign comes from his own 
letters. Naturally, he was not inclined to set 
forth his own exploits. His letters, consequently, 
always turn upon some point in the home life at 
Arlington, as he thinks of it during those lonely 
nights and days upon the plains ; or else some in- 
cident in his army life brings the life at Arlington 
more vividly to his mind. He speaks often of the 
horses and dogs and cats at his home, for no 
family could be fonder of pets than were the Lee 
family. The Custis branch of the family, too, 
was of the same mind. The father of Mrs. Lee 
was inordinately fond of cats ; he had one especial 
pet, a big, yellow cat that he held in high esteem, 
and petted " within an inch of his life," which is 
doubtless the right and proper way to deal with 
pets. 

Writing from Fort Brown, in 1857, Lee says to 



COLONEL LEE'S INDIAN CAMPAIGN 75 

his wife: "Tell your father that Mrs. Waite, wife 
of Colonel Waite, has a fine large cat, ' Jim Noaks,' 
which goes with her everywhere ; he goes with her 
by day, sleeps with her at night, and in public 
conveyances she has him on a leash, carrying along 
a bottle of milk for his special use. I have been 
trying to persuade her to let me take him up to 
Camp Cooper. I have seen some fine cats in 
Brownsville, but no yellow ones. Dark brindle 
is the favorite color on the frontier. In my walk, 
the other evening, I met a Mexican with a wild 
kitten in his arms, enveloped in a blanket. The 
little creature was spotted all over, like a leopard. 
I tried to buy him, but the man said that he was 
already sold. Even if I had succeeded in purchas- 
ing him, I should have had to keep him chained; 
they are very savage, when grown up." 

In a letter written a month later from Indianola 
to his youngest daughter, Lee, after some good 
advice to the child, has more to say about cats. "I 
must inform you," he says, "that Jim Noaks, 
Mrs. Waite's cat, is dead. He died of apoplexy; 
I foretold his end ; coffee and cream for breakfast, 
poundcake for lunch, and turtle and oysters for 
dinner. Then came buttered toast for tea and 
Mexican rats — taken raw — for supper. He 
grew to be of enormous size, and ended in a spasm. 



76 ROBERT E. LEE 

His beauty could not save him. I saw, in Antonio, 
a cat dressed up for company, with two holes bored in 
each ear, and in each were two bows of blue and 
pink ribbon. His round face, set in pink and blue, 
looked like a big owl in a full-blooming bush. Now 
be a good child, my dear, and think always of your 
devoted father. . . ." 

In closing this chapter, it may be well to state 
that it was during this campaign, traveling over the 
bare Texas prairies, that Colonel Sibley invented the 
army tent which has since become so famous. He 
was caught in a bitterly cold " norther," his wife and 
daughter being with him ; for the sake of warmth 
he made a fire in his wall-tent, expecting that the 
smoke would go out through the opening in front. 
It did not do so. This led Colonel Sibley to 
experiment, the next day, and he constructed a 
tent of canvas shaped like an Indian tepee, or 
wigwam. The experiment was successful, the 
model an excellent one, and the " Sibley" tent 
took a permanent place in the equipment of United 
States soldiers. 



CHAPTER IX 
The Capture of John Brown 

Thus far in the life of Robert E. Lee — that 
is, up to the year 1859, when he was fifty-two years 
old — he had not passed through any of those 
experiences which afterward gave him world-wide 
fame. Thus far he had been simply a man of fine 
appearance, an exemplary husband and father, 
and an officer of distinction in the United States 
Army. There were other men who, but for subse- 
quent events, would have been considered in sub- 
stantially the same class. But his life divides it- 
self into two parts ; the first part closed with his 
Indian campaign on the frontier; and it all was 
creditable and honorable. The second part, which 
lifted him into a far higher class in American his- 
tory, began with the invasion of Harper's Ferry, 
by John Brown, on Sunday afternoon, October 
1 6th, 1859. This was the beginning, so far as 
Robert E. Lee was concerned, of the great strife 
which we call, sometimes, the " Civil War," and 
sometimes the "War of the Rebellion." This 

77 



78 ~ ROBERT E. LEE 

episode at Harper's Ferry brought him for the first 
time into opposition with the movement which 
aimed at abolishing slavery in the United States. 

At this time Lee did not assert himself for or 
against slavery, as an institution. As a Federal 
officer, he simply obeyed orders and, as always, 
performed his task effectively. 

Lee had returned to Arlington to settle the estate 
of Mr. Custis, his father-in-law. While there a 
message came to him from the office of the Secre- 
tary of War, telling him that a certain man named 
' 'John Brown" had led seventeen other men, 
whites and blacks, into the town of Harper's Ferry 
with the avowed purpose of liberating the slaves 
in that region, and supplying them with weapons 
from the United States Armory in that town. The 
Secretary ordered Lee to go at once to the scene 
of this disturbance and seize all the men concerned 
in this unlawful exploit. A battalion of marines 
and a force of soldiers from Fortress Monroe were 
put under his command. 

Lee responded promptly, made his preparations, 
collected his forces of men, and reached Harper's 
Ferry in less than thirty-six hours from the time 
he had been notified by the War Secretary. He 
reached there at midnight; but, dark though it 
was, he immediately set about an examination of 



THE CAPTURE OF JOHN BROWN 79 

the grounds of the armory, posted pickets, and 
gathered from eyewitnesses as full information as 
he could concerning the events. 

In Lieutenant- Colonel Lee's group of officers was 
Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart, afterwards General 
Stuart of the Confederate Army, called (from his 
initials) "Jeb" Stuart, a brilliant cavalry leader. 
Lee and Stuart consulted together, and Lee told 
Stuart that he had decided to bring matters to a 
head at early dawn; he was resolved to demand 
the surrender of " Captain Brown" with all his 
men; and if he refused, the engine-house of the 
armory, where the invaders had taken refuge, was 
to be charged by the marines with bayonets. If 
the men surrendered, they were to be handed over to 
the United States authorities. Lee wished to hand 
them over alive, and for this reason ordered the 
bayonet charge; for with bayonets more men 
would be taken alive than with bullets. And an- 
other reason why Lee ordered this bayonet attack 
was that several citizens of the town had been 
seized by the raiders, were held as hostages, and 
might be killed by the bullets. 

Captain Brown had hoped that all the negro 
slaves of that region would rally around him, and 
start an insurrection against their masters. Un- 
fortunately for him, his hopes were not fulfilled; 



80 ROBERT E. LEE 

the negroes had been so long in bondage that their 
spirit of independence was weakened; and they 
were unequal to the opportunity that he gave 
them. Some writers have pictured the great dan- 
ger, at this point, of a bloody revolt of negroes 
through the entire South, with a general slaughter 
of all white persons. But that statement is un- 
sound. The negroes were incapable of such 
reprisals, both from their long domination by the 
white race, and because of the friendly relations 
between the two races. 

It is said by at least one of Colonel Lee's biog- 
raphers that when Brown was ordered to surrender 
he replied that he would not, and that if Lee ordered 
his soldiers to attack the armory the hostages with- 
in it would be killed. This biographer affirms that 
one of the hostages, Colonel Lewis Washington, 
called out to the attacking party, " Never mind 
us — fire!" Whereupon Lee, hearing these brave 
words, exclaimed, "The old revolutionary blood 
does tell." 

This same writer, General A. L. Long, continues, 
"Before sending Lieutenant Stuart to hold this 
parley, Lee had devised a scheme of action which 
he would quickly put into effect should the insur- 
gents refuse to surrender. Stuart, in case of a 
refusal, was to raise his arm, as a signal. At once 



THE CAPTURE OF JOHN BROWN 81 

the marines were to rush the door of the engine- 
house, and so confuse the occupants by the sudden- 
ness of their attack as to save the lives of their 
prisoners. This scheme was successfully carried 
out; the marines forced the door, captured the 
building, and released the hostages." 

It is quite likely that this report is correct ; but 
Lee's own account, set down in his own ordinance 
book, is far briefer: " Waited until daylight as 
a number of citizens were held as hostages, and their 
lives threatened. Tuesday, at sunrise, with twelve 
marines, under Lieutenant Green, broke into the 
door of the engine-house, secured the insurgents, 
and rescued the prisoners unhurt. All the insur- 
gents were killed or mortally wounded except John 
Brown, Aaron Stevens, Edwin Coppe, and Green 
Shield (colored)." 

The raiders themselves had fired upon the 
marines with some effect ; so that the citizens of 
Harper's Ferry, much incensed, would have lynched 
the survivors had not Lee and his men prevented 
it. This was Lee's part in the famous "John 
Brown Raid." The survivors were duly turned 
over to the proper civil authorities; and John 
Brown was tried, condemned, and hanged on 
December 2d, 1859, just six weeks after the raid 
had taken place. 

G 



82 ROBERT E. LEE 

His duty performed, Colonel Lee returned to 
Arlington. He had accomplished what his govern- 
ment had required of him, namely, to subdue the 
rebellion. However confident the government in 
Washington may have felt that the episode was 
terminated, many men and women in Northern 
states were fully awake to its significance. They 
saw in it an outward and visible sign of a wide- 
spread protest against slavery. When the news 
of John Brown's death was learned, Wendell 
Phillips declared, in a public address, " History 
will visit that river, the Potomac, more kindly 
because John Brown has gilded it with the eternal 
brightness of his glorious deed." And Ralph 
Waldo Emerson, a more temperate and impartial 
nature, affirmed, "The new saint will make the 
gallows glorious, like the cross." 

Thus it may be seen that "John Brown's 
Raid" aroused bitterly opposed opinions through- 
out the country. His course of action was un- 
doubtedly illegal and delusive; but the principle 
in John Brown's heart was a noble ideal of human 
rights. 

In essence, this ideal regarding human freedom 
did not differ greatly from the ideals and wishes of 
Robert E. Lee and thousands of other men who 
fought later in the Confederate Army. Back of 



THE CAPTURE OF JOHN BROWN 83 

the secession of the Southern States, two points 
were at issue. One was "State Rights," or "The 
right of any individual state to secede from the 
Union"; and the other — the more fundamental 
one and the one which pushed "State Rights" 
into the background — was human slavery. 

Regarding the question of slavery, as we may see 
by some of his letters, Lee regretted it, even de- 
plored it, but took no active steps against it; 
whereas John Brown took a violent, even illegal, 
step against it ; while the movement of the civilized 
world was away from it. 

One letter of Colonel Lee's, written three years 
before this raid, gives us his ideas on slavery. The 
important point to be noted is this, — that while 
Lee saw the evils of it, he was disinclined to break 
through the armor of Southern custom by taking 
any active and injudicious steps which might in 
the end prove of little service either to blacks or 
whites. In this letter just mentioned Lee writes 
as follows : 

". . . In this enlightened age, there are few, 
I believe, but will acknowledge that slavery as 
an institution is a moral and political evil in any 
country. It is useless to expatiate upon its dis- 
advantages. I think it, however, a greater evil 
to the white race than to the black race. The 



84 ROBERT E. LEE 

blacks are all immeasurably better off here than in 
Africa, morally, socially, physically. The painful 
discipline they are enduring is necessary for their 
instruction, as a race, and I hope will prepare them 
for better things." Farther on in the letter Lee 
wrote, " Their emancipation will sooner result from 
a mild and melting influence than from the storms 
and contests of fiery controversy." 

Thus runs the letter written in 1856 by one of 
the ablest men this country has ever produced; 
a man who, through forty-five years of honorable 
living, had won a lofty place in the eyes of the world. 
To explain why such a man took the position he 
did is astonishingly simple. Robert E. Lee cast 
his sword into the scales with his native state, 
Virginia, from the sincerest and highest of motives. 
He believed he was right in his decision just as 
truly as many of the great Northern leaders be- 
lieved that they were right in denouncing slavery. 
As we read the chapters following we shall see 
how deeply the great general felt about the in- 
creasingly bitter attitudes of both North and 
South. There were many other Southern men of 
integrity and intelligence who were gradually 
coming to feel that the right of a state to make 
its own laws was a right not to be questioned by a 
national government. Northern states might free 



THE CAPTURE OF JOHN BROWN 85 

their slaves or not as they pleased ; but to insist on 
imposing the "Abolitionist" point of view upon 
Southern slaveholders was, in the eyes of the 
South, an injustice to which they would not lightly 
submit. 



CHAPTER X 

Crossing the Rubicon 

There were many problems confronting the 
United States in the year i860, but the problem of 
slavery bore more and more heavily upon the minds 
and hearts of the people. In former days slavery 
had existed in the Northern states of the Union, 
but had long ceased to exist there; men and 
women increasingly felt the injustice of it, and 
opposed it in various ways. This growing opposi- 
tion to human servitude, and the determination to 
abolish it, were quickened by "John Brown's 
Raid," and especially by Harriet Beecher Stowe's 
novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." That powerful 
book, which set forth, vividly, certain of the evils 
of slavery in the South, had been published in the 
National Era, at Washington, in the winter of 1851- 
52, and later was issued in book form. 

In addition to these causes, many incidents 
occurred, pathetic and tragic, as slaves escaped 
from their masters and made their way North to 

86 



CROSSING THE RUBICON 87 

freedom. The question of returning them to their 
masters caused much friction; and the civil laws 
were sometimes broken in the name of what was 
believed to be the higher law of humanity. 

The South continually complained that the 
North interfered with its interests; and as time 
went on the slave states became more and more 
vigorous in their protest against the North's 
interference. Thus the question of a state's right 
to secede, to separate itself from the Union, came 
rapidly to the front. North and South continued 
to grow apart. Denunciations of slavery increased 
in the North, particularly in New England, while 
a denunciation, equally fervent, of a government 
which insisted on "national sovereignty" raged in 
the South. 

The tense situation now existing was plainly 
indicated in Congress, where senators and represen- 
tatives drew more and more into two groups, a 
pro-slavery and an Abolition group. Newspapers 
of the two sections added fuel to the flame ; and 
nowhere in the country was there more excitement 
than in Charleston, South Carolina. It was in 
that city on April 12th, 1861, that the first open 
attack upon the Union was made. Several states 
had already passed votes of secession in their 
legislatures, when Fort Sumter, a fort in Charleston 



88 ROBERT E. LEE 

Harbor, flying the Stars and Stripes, was fired upon 
by a Confederate battery at Fort Johnson. Im- 
mediately North and South realized that this 
mighty problem of slavery was now to be settled 
by fire and sword, carnage on the battlefield, and 
anguish in stricken homes. Lee had feared such 
a bloody solution of this great question; he was 
now brought face to face with his own personal 
problem. What was he to do? On one side was 
his pledged word of support to the Federal govern- 
ment; on the other came the call of his beloved 
state, Virginia, "The Old Dominion." No ques- 
tions of personal and family loss or gain entered 
for a moment into Lee's thoughts as he debated the 
matter with himself. As for the issue of slavery, 
Lee believed in slavery under favorable conditions ; 
indeed, we can well see that it was from the most 
profound and sincere convictions that Robert E. 
Lee finally decided to cast in his lot with his native 
state. 

On Friday, April 12th, 1861, Fort Sumter was 
fired upon; President Lincoln at once called for 
seventy-five thousand soldiers; and this demand 
was promptly supported by the governors of the 
Northern states ; but several of the Southern states 
refused support, and, on April 17th, the "Ordinance 
of Secession" was passed by Virginia. 



CROSSING THE RUBICON 89 

This situation brought Colonel Lee face to face 
with the most momentous decision of his life. 
Not only were his own fortunes and the welfare 
of his family involved, but, to a man of his high 
integrity, his anxiety to stand justified by his own 
conscience and in the sight of God, — this must 
have weighed upon him mightily. 

In addition, we may attribute to his intelligent 
mind this further oppressive consideration, — that 
he must have realized, humbly yet clearly, that his 
decision for or against the Southern states meant 
life or death to thousands of brave men, and thus 
it resulted. All this Lee weighed, doubtless, in 
the solemn deliberations of his noble soul. Never 
a vain man, nor a lightly self-sufficient man, 
Robert E. Lee was always open to reasonable 
suggestions; and he held a conversation with 
Francis P. Blair, wherein he was offered practi- 
cally the command of the United States Army. 
This offer was probably made with the approval 
of President Lincoln and Simon Cameron, Secre- 
tary of War. Lee's reply to Blair's offer was, 
" Although opposed to secession, and deprecating 
war, I cannot take part in an invasion of the 
Southern states." 

From this interview, Colonel Lee went to his 
beloved commander and loyal friend, General 



go ROBERT E. LEE 

Winfleld Scott, himself a Virginian, and therefore 
in a position similiar to Lee's. General Scott 
presented the Union side as fully as he could, and 
urged Lee to decide as he himself had decided, 
but without avail. Lee's reply to General Scott's 
appeal reveals the moral compulsion which ruled 
in his action. "I am compelled to do as I do; I 
cannot consult my own feelings in the matter." 
It was a question of conscience. 

Probably another factor in his decision was that 
of sentiment, of idealism, of loyalty, to his proud 
old state, a loyalty closer to him than that which 
he felt for the Union at large. After these two 
fateful interviews, Lee returned to his home at 
Arlington ; and we have this record, from his wife, 
regarding the travail of this great man's soul, as 
he reached his decision. She says, " The night 
his letter of resignation was to be written, he asked 
to be left alone for a time ; and he paced the cham- 
ber above, and was heard frequently to fall upon 
his knees and engage in prayer for divine guidance. 
At last he came down, collected and almost cheer- 
ful, and said, 'Well, Mary, the question is settled. 
Here is my letter of resignation, and a letter for 
General Scott.' " 

This letter of resignation was brief, direct, 
manly, — the letter of a soldier : 



CROSSING THE RUBICON 91 

Arlington, Washington City, P. O. 
April 20th, 1 86 1. 

Honorable Simon Cameron, Secretary of War: 

Sir — I have the honor to tender the resignation of my 
command as Colonel of the First Regiment of Cavalry. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

R. E. Lee, 
Colonel First Cavalry. 

This action was like the shield in the old folk- 
story: it had two sides; Lee's resignation from 
service in the army of the Union meant that he 
would accept whatever position was offered him 
in the new Confederacy. He had crossed a Rubicon 
as surely as Julius Caesar crossed that little stream 
in Northern Italy. Henceforth he was to give his 
sword to Virginia, with all his heart and conscience. 
As he said in his letter to General Scott, "Save in 
the defense of my native state, I never desire again 
to draw my sword." 

As soon as this decision became known, Lee was 
named by the governor to the Virginia Convention, 
sitting at Richmond, as Major-General and Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Virginian troops. He was 
not put in command of the entire army of the 
Confederacy, but solely over Virginia soldiers. The 
Convention, having ratified the governor's plan, 



02 ROBERT E. LEE 

and knowing Lee's distinguished record, rejoiced 
unspeakably because he was to stand with his state 
in its secession from the Union. Naturally, the 
delegates wished to see him, and he was invited to 
appear before the Convention. 

Lee was never inclined toward vain shows or 
dramatic situations ; he would have much preferred 
to avoid a public scene, and to give every moment 
of his time and every atom of his strength to the 
task of organizing the military force, now put under 
his orders; however, he yielded to the Conven- 
tion's desire to see him, deeming it a justifiable de- 
sire. The hall, when Lee entered, was crowded. 
The audience was eager to see the man upon whom 
such heavy responsibilities were to rest; and all 
the members of the Convention rose to their feet as 
he entered. 

When all was quiet the Chairman of the Conven- 
tion, Mr. John Janney, gave an eloquent address 
of welcome in which he said, "Major-General Lee, 
in the name of our state, I bid you a heartfelt 
welcome to this hall where have been heard the 
voices of statesmen, soldiers, and sages of bygone 
days who have borne your name. When our need 
of a leader became apparent we turned instinc- 
tively to the old county of Westmoreland, so prolific, 
in the olden days, of heroes and statesmen. It 



CROSSING THE RUBICON 93 

was she who gave birth to the ' Father of his 
Country,' to Richard Henry Lee, and, last but not 
least, to your own gallant father. We have watched 
with pride the triumphant march through Mexico 
of that army to which you were attached ; we know 
what luster was shed on the American arms by 
that campaign ; and we know, also — what your 
modesty has always disclaimed — ■ that no small 
share of the glory of that achievement was due to 
your valor and your military genius. We have 
expressed, by our unanimous vote, our conviction 
that you are — among the living citizens of 
Virginia — 'first in war.' We pray God that ere 
long you may come to be known also as 'first in 
peace.' And when the due time comes, you will 
have earned that proud distinction of being, ' first 
in the hearts of your countrymen.' " 

Mr. Janney's entire address was in the same 
eulogistic strain, overwhelming in its fervor, and 
almost oppressive to the modest, soldierly man 
standing before that enthusiastic assembly. When 
it was ended every ear was quickened to hear 
Major-General Lee's reply, and every eye was 
turned upon him. His response was brief, as we 
would expect; not one-quarter the length of Mr. 
Janney's eloquent address: 

"Mr. President, and members of the Conven- 



94 ™ ROBERT E. LEE 

tion," he began, " deeply impressed with the 
solemnity of the occasion, and profoundly grateful 
for the honor conferred upon me, I accept the posi- 
tion to which your too kindly judgment has 
assigned me. Trusting to Almighty God, an 
approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow- 
citizens, I will devote myself to the defense and 
service of my native state, in whose behalf alone 
I would ever draw my sword." 

This enthusiastic meeting was held on April 
23 d, 1 86 1. In May, the Secretary of War of the 
Confederacy put General Lee in command of all 
Confederate troops, from any state, as soon as 
they entered Virginia. 



CHAPTER XI 
A War Within a Nation 

The War of the Rebellion, the Great Civil War, 
lasted from the attack on Fort Sumter, on April 
1 2th, 1 86 1, to Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court 
House, April 9th, 1865, and Johnston's surrender 
to Sherman, on April 26th, 1865, — a period of 
almost exactly four years; and it was a war of 
especial horror because it was waged between two 
sections of one nation; it was a struggle to the 
death among the members of one great family. 
Combatants on both sides spoke the same language, 
cherished the same historic memories, and often 
were connected by ties of marriage and friendship, 
one group with the other. 

When one nation enters the territory of another 
nation, there to do battle with men who are practi- 
cally strangers, and who speak an alien tongue, 
the hostility of one side toward the other is unmixed 
with misgivings and regrets and outraged human 
affections. But in the war between our North and 
South, families sent sometimes one member to one 

95 



96 ^ ROBERT E. LEE 

army, and one member to another; and wives 
sometimes blended tearful prayers for a Union 
son and a Confederate husband, knowing that even 
as they prayed the two loved ones might be grap- 
pling in bloody strife. War, even under its mildest 
aspects, is ferocious and heartrending, as Lee wrote 
from his Mexican campaign to his family at Arling- 
ton. But a war between two parts of one country, 
like our Civil War, means additional horrors and 
pangs which spring from lacerated affections, and 
homes rent asunder. 

Yet the war went on. President Lincoln had 
called upon the North for 100,000 volunteers, and 
the North had responded with astonishing rapidity. 
General Lee was at Richmond, gathering and train- 
ing the volunteers who poured in, all anxious to 
support the Confederacy. A large majority of 
these Southern soldiers believed that they were 
rallying simply to the defense of certain states 
which stood upon their rights as independent gov- 
ernments. On looking back upon this period from 
a distance of more than half a century, and seeing 
the situation in its broader and deeper meanings, we 
know that slavery was the foundation of the South's 
protest. 

All through the Southern states the expectation 
prevailed that now, with the seat of the Confederacy 



A WAR WITHIN A NATION 97 

removed from Montgomery, Alabama, to Rich- 
mond, Virginia, and with Washington, the Union 
capital, less than a hundred miles away, the prin- 
cipal part of the conflict would take place upon 
that portion of the territory of Virginia which lay 
between these two centers; but, terribly as the 
Old Dominion suffered, the battle-swept area 
spread far beyond the bounds of any one state. 
And the expectation which was generally cherished, 
North and South, that the conflict would last only 
a few months, — this expectation, alas, was not 
fulfilled. 

General Lee was one of the few leaders of the 
South who foresaw a protracted and desolating 
conflict. Consequently he prepared thoroughly 
for it. By the end of May, 1861, he had organized, 
equipped, and sent to the field, more than thirty 
thousand men ; while various other regiments were 
in rapid preparation. 

From the nature of things it was evident that 
the North would assume the aggressive; so Lee 
was not surprised at the speed of the North's en- 
rollment, knowing also that both contending 
parties contained excellent fighting material. This 
fact was not grasped by the masses of the people, 
North and South, until after several fierce con- 
flicts had taken place. At the outset enthusiastic 



q8 ~ ROBERT E. LEE 

Northerners declared that one Union soldier could 
"lick three Rebs," at which the South succinctly 
announced that one Confederate could " lick three 
Yanks." Both sides, later, by repeated and bitter 
lessons, learned to revise such statements. Not 
only were the men of both North and South pro- 
foundly stirred by the opening of the war, but 
youth and even childhood shared in the widespread 
excitement. Young men who were below enlist- 
ment age (eighteen) often gave their ages higher 
than this, and thus were accepted for military 
service. In colleges and other institutions of 
learning throughout the entire country enthusiasm 
for one side or the other was at a high pitch. Fore- 
most among such institutions in the South was the 
University of Virginia; and there one of General 
Lee's sons, Robert E. Lee, Jr., was a student. Of 
course the college boys went into military training 
at once; young Robert, Jr., was elected captain; 
but captains need uniforms and other articles to 
distinguish them from ordinary private soldiers. 
It is evident, from one of General Lee's letters to 
Mrs. Lee, that young Robert in his need had applied 
to his father. He writes : 

"You know that Robert has been made 
Captain of Company A, of the University. He 
has written for a sword and sash, which I have not 



A WAR WITHIN A NATION 99 

yet been able to get him ; I shall send him a sword 
of mine, but cannot procure him a sash. " 

After the work of organizing was well under 
way, at Richmond, there was a growing popular 
demand that General Lee should proceed to West 
Virginia, where the Union commander, General Mc- 
Clellan, had defeated Confederate troops, General 
Garnett having been killed in the battle. The 
famous battle of "Bull Run," as the North called 
it, while the South referred to it as the battle of 
Manassas, had been fought, with defeat for the 
Union army. In this conflict General Lee took no 
part ; but his distinguished record in the Mexican 
war was well known. Therefore Governor Letcher 
and his military council, reluctant as they were to 
lose his assistance at Richmond, placed him in 
command of the Army of West Virginia. Here 
Lee began that wonderful military career which 
afterward made him famous throughout the world. 

But at the beginning of his activity in the Civil 
War, Lee was destined to meet with disappoint- 
ment. His campaigns in West Virginia were in 
large measure unsuccessful ; the situation he found 
in that region was this: General McClellan had 
seized and fortified the approaches to Harper's 
Ferry, after the place itself had been captured. 
Then "Little Mac," as his soldiers affectionately 



ioo ROBERT E. LEE 

called him, was ordered to return to Washington 
and General Rosecrans took command in West 
Virginia. Not the least important barrier to Lee's 
success here lay in the hostile — or at least un- 
friendly — attitude of the population of that moun- 
tainous country. The reason why they were so 
lukewarm in their support of the Confederacy is 
clearly explained by one of Lee's most admiring 
biographers. He says: "These dwellers in West 
Virginia were but little affected by the causes which 
led to the war, for several reasons. One was be- 
cause of the absence of slaves among them." 

But the campaign, among these peaks and spurs 
of West Virginia, dragged heavily from the first. 
Rosecrans was leading one body of Union troops 
up the Kanawha River, while Reynolds was in- 
trenched with another body upon the Cheat River. 
The Confederate troops were in four detachments, 
commanded by four iL generals who had not worked 
together harmoniously. In July, 1861, General 
Lee took command and for a time gave attention 
to organizing the men into one army, a big," efficient 
body ; and the difficulties of this task were very 
great. How great they were we learn from his 
letters written at that time ; and we can see that 
" soldiering" is far from being the mere pastime we 
are tempted to think it, when we stand on the city 



A WAR WITHIN A NATION ioi 

sidewalks, watching the rhythmic tread of a passing 
company of soldiers, trim and gay in their immacu- 
late uniforms, while the band at their head plays 
inspiring strains. 

" The enemy has been driven back, not by a 
battle, but by a change of position. Rain, rain, 
rain, there has been nothing but rain. The state 
of the weather has aggravated the sickness that 
has attacked the whole army — measles and 
typhoid fever ; some regiments have not over three 
hundred men fit for duty. Do not mention this. 
It will be in the papers. The dirt turnpikes, rich 
in mold, are so cut up that only double teams 
can travel." 

On September nth, General Lee wrote to his 
wife from Valley Mountain. His letter tells briefly 
and frankly of his failure to capture or drive back 
the Union forces. "I had hoped," he wrote, "to 
surprise the enemy's works, on the morning of the 
1 2th, both at Cheat Mountain and at Valley 
River. All the attacking parties, with great labor, 
had reached their destinations over mountains con- 
sidered impassable to bodies of troops, despite the 
heavy storm which had set in the day before and 
raged all night, in which they had to stand until 
daylight. Their arms were then wet, and they 
themselves in no fit condition for a fierce assault. 



102 ^ ROBERT E. LEE 

After waiting in< vain, until after ten o'clock, for a 
signal which wassto be given by our other attacking 
troops, we remained on the ground three days. 
But the enemy would not come out of his trenches 
and we have returned to this place. My regret 
at this untoward event was great. We met with 
one heavy loss which grieves me deeply. Colonel 
Washington accompanied our son Fitzhugh on a 
reconnoitering expedition; I fear they went too 
near the enemy's pickets. The first they knew 
there was a volley from a concealed party, within a 
few yards of them. Three balls passed through the 
Colonel's body and three struck our son's horse. 
He was able, however, to seize the Colonel's horse, 
and bring him and his wounded master away." 
Still another letter, in much the same vein : 
"The enemy has withdrawn. Your letter, with 
the socks, has come. As I found Perry" [his 
colored servant from Arlington] "in desperate 
need, I bestowed a couple of pairs upon him, as a 
present from you. There was a drenching rain, 
yesterday, and as I had left my overcoat in camp I 
was thoroughly wet, from head to foot. I have 
put my clothes on the bushes, and they will be well 
washed." 

Thus the campaign in West Virginia dragged on, 
with no success for General Lee's forces. The 



A WAR WITHIN A NATION 103 

exact cause for the failure has never been clearly 
known, though frequently discussed and partly 
surmised. The President of the Confederacy, Mr. 
Jefferson Davis, has left a few words on record 
which hint at the causes. He says that after 
General Lee returned to Richmond he reported to 
Mr. Davis and gave him a detailed account of the 
West Virginia campaign. That report showed 
that, but for the failure of certain subordinate 
officers, Lee would have gained a victory ; but the 
disappointed commander, with that nobility and 
generosity which he always showed both in failure 
and success, spoke these words to Mr. Davis; "I 
would rather rest under censure myself, than 
injure those who are doing what they can for the 
cause." 

In the days of the Civil War each side suffered 
from disclosures of its plans by newspaper accounts. 
Armies and their officials had not then learned 
what the Japanese learned and practiced in their 
war with Russia — to keep the movements and 
positions and purposes of their troops, at the front, 
an entire secret. 

But after our Civil War General Lee, who had 
been the master-mind of the Southern armies, 
declared that he was frequently enabled to oppose 
the enemy with advantage because of reading its 



104 ^* ROBERT E. LEE 

plans in Northern newspapers, which he regularly 
examined. 

Editors of certain Charleston papers had en- 
couraged the secession idea most persistently. All 
through the war many editors, both South and 
North, assumed a wisdom and authority which they 
by no means possessed. In one of General Lee's 
letters from Western Virginia he says, with grim 
humor, "General Floyd [Confederate] has three 
editors on his staff. I hope something will be done 
to please them." 

In connection with the evil of newspaper inter- 
ference, Benjamin F. Hill of Georgia has left us 
this incident concerning Robert E. Lee. Shortly 
after General Bragg ceased to command the Army 
of the Tennessee, Lee said, " We made a great mis- 
take, Mr. Hill " (with a twinkle in his eye), "in the 
beginning of our struggle with the North." 

"What mistake do you mean, General ?" asked 
Mr. Hill. 

"Why, sir, in the beginning, we appointed all our 
worst generals to command the armies, and all our 
best generals to edit the newspapers. As you 
know, I have planned a few battles and cam- 
paigns; sometimes my plans have defects; and 
when I've studied them afterwards I have wondered 
that I did not see those defects in advance. Then, 



A WAR WITHIN A NATION 105 

on reading some of our newspapers, I have dis- 
covered that their editors saw all the mistakes, 
plainly, from the start, — only they did not 
communicate their knowledge to me until it was 
too late." 

"Then," continues Mr. Hill, "a grave and 
beautiful expression came over his face, as he added, 
reflectively and calmly, 'I have no other ambition 
than to serve the Confederacy in any capacity to 
which the authorities assign me. If they wish' 
(here the same humorous twinkle came again to his 
eye), 'I am willing to yield my place to any one 
of those editorial generals, and I will do my best 
for the cause in a newspaper office.' " 



CHAPTER XII 

General Lee takes Command 

The Union, or Federal, government was plan- 
ning its lines of attack upon the Confederate, or 
Secession, government. This Union movement 
was the "offensive" or " aggressive," while the 
Confederates were expected to be content with a 
" defensive" campaign. General Lee completely 
upset such plans when he came into command ; 
but for a time after the West Virginia failure he 
remained at Richmond, holding a position which 
was called "Military Adviser" to President Davis. 

To the leaders at Richmond it soon became evi- 
dent that the defenses along the coast of South 
Carolina and Georgia, and even Florida, must be 
strengthened ; they were too open to invasion by 
warcraft from the North. So, late in the year 1861, 
General Lee, who had always excelled in the duties 
of the Engineer Corps, went to Charleston, South 
Carolina, to attend to these needed coast defenses. 

His work, as we well know, was always of the 
highest possible quality, and the effective resist- 
ance which certain of those ports afterward made 
106 



GENERAL LEE TAKES COMMAND 107 

was due to Lee's constructive skill. From several 
points along the coast he wrote to his family. Some 
of these letters are preserved for our reading. Their 
interest lies chiefly in their entire freedom of expres- 
sion. Already Lee was becoming transformed, 
outwardly, because of his years and his cares, into 
that dignified, almost austere, man whom his sol- 
diers so revered. Yet underneath his reserved out- 
ward manner ran a warm, mirthful, human current 
of feeling. In a letter from Charleston, November 
1 5th, to one of his daughters, he chaffs her about hav- 
ing taken seriously some joke of her brother Rob's. 

"Do not mind what Rob says," Lee writes; 
"you know I have told you not to believe what the 
young men tell you." Next comes this line, so 
revealing even in its playful setting; " I have a 
beautiful white beard; it is much admired. At 
least, much remarked on." So the cares of his 
burdened life were telling on him. He was no 
longer the handsome young lieutenant of the 
Mexican War, but he was still of striking appear- 
ance. His dark eyes were as brilliant as ever, while 
his bodily movements were at a high level of vigor. 

During his stay at Fernandina, Florida, he found 
time to visit Cumberland Island, and Dungeness, 
the family estate of the Greenes, descendants of 
Nathanael Greene of Revolutionary fame. It was 



108 ^> ROBERT E. LEE 

in the luxuriant garden of Dungeness that the body 
of General Lee's father, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, 
had been buried many years before. General Lee 
records that many of the Greene family had re- 
cently gone into the interior of Georgia, doubtless 
to some place which was less exposed in case of at- 
tack by Federal troops. 

One of his sons, William H. F. Lee, was now 
married ; and a letter which we have from Lee to 
his new daughter-in-law, Charlotte, of whom he 
was very fond, is interesting as containing a delicate 
thread of deference mingled with its badinage, 
which would not have quite fitted into a letter to 
his own children. 

In part the letter runs as follows : 

You have no occasion to inform me, you precious 
Chass [he often gave nicknames to people whom he loved 
and greatly trusted, but to few others], that you have not 
written to me for a long time. That I already knew, and 
you know that the letters I am obliged to write do not pre- 
vent my reading letters from you. My proposition to you 
was that you should accompany your mamma to Fayette- 
ville, and not run off with her son to Fredericksburg. I am 
afraid the enemy will catch you ; besides, there are too many 
young men there. I only want you to visit the old men, your 
grandpapa and papa. But what has got into your heads to 
cause you to cut off of them your hair ? If you will weave 
some delicate fabrics for the soldiers of the family out of it 



GENERAL LEE TAKES COMMAND 109 

I will be content with the sacrifice. Or, if it is an expression 

of a penitential mood which has come over you young women 

I shall not complain. Poor little Annie ! Some one told me 

that a widower had been making eyes at her, through his 

spectacles ; perhaps she is preparing for caps. But you can 

tell her not to distress herself ; her papa is not going to give 

her up in that way. I am however so glad that you are all 

together, that I am willing you should indulge yourselves in 

some extravagances, if they do not result in serious hurt, as 

they will afford a variety to the grave occupations of knitting, 

sewing, spinning, and weaving. You will have to get out the 

old wheels and looms, again, else I do not know where our 

poor Confederates will get clothes. I have plenty of old 

ones for the present, but how are they to be renewed? 

And that is the condition of many others. I would advise 

your grandpapa not to begin building at Broadneck until he 

sees whether the enemy can be driven from the land, as 

they have a special fondness for destroying residences when 

they can. Do not let them get that precious baby ! he is 

so sweet that they would be sure to eat him. Kiss Fitzhugh 

for me ! Likewise the baby. That is the sweetest Christmas 

gift I can send them. I send you some sweet violets; I 

hope they will retain their fragrance till you receive them. 

I have just gathered them for you. The sun has set and my 

eyes feel the relief, for they have had no rest this holy day. 

But my heart, with all its strength, stretches toward you 

and those with you, and hushes in silence its yearnings. 

God bless you, my daughter, your dear husband, and son ! 

Give much love to your mamma, and may every blessing 

attend you all, prays 

Your devoted father, 

R. E. Lee. 



no ^*^ ROBERT E. LEE 

Few letters ever blended more charmingly the 
pleasantries of life and its deep somber realities, 
yet it was written in a few moments snatched from 
the duties of placing " floating batteries" and 
throwing up earthworks. 

Quite another side of the writer's life is shown in 
a letter to one of his sons : 

My dear Son : — 

I have received your letter, and I am glad that you have 
returned safely from the Rappahannock. The victories of 
the enemy increase, and demand more activity on our part. 
He seems to be working his way to the Savannah River, 
through the creeks and marshes, and his shells now stop 
navigation. His barges and advance boats are even clad 
with iron, so that our rifle-balls are harmless. The tide 
rises seven and eight feet ; so it is easy for them to propel 
their light-draft boats over the marshes. We must be ready 
to sacrifice all for the country. 

Your devoted father, 

R. E. Lee. 

Whatever the issue was to be, it was unknown 
to the untiring worker on the Georgia coast. And 
it was equally unknown to the anxious leaders in 
Richmond. The North had begun to pour out its 
thousands of brave men, and, in some parts of the 
South, these troops had been met and defeated by 
the Confederates, who were equally brave. Yet 
the Federal troops were not without their victories, 



GENERAL LEE TAKES COMMAND in 

also. Forts Henry and Donelson, in the West, 
had been taken by them; likewise New Orleans 
and Roanoke Island had surrendered. After the 
first battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, July 21st, 
1 86 1, the Confederate forces had felt that their 
victory was a clear indication of their ultimate 
success in the entire war. So they were for a time 
rather lax in their efforts. Consequently, in May, 
Virginia became anxious; for General McClellan, 
with over a hundred thousand men, was working 
his way slowly but surely up from the Atlantic sea- 
coast, at Fortress Monroe, along the peninsula 
formed by the York and James rivers, leading di- 
rectly toward Richmond, the heart of the Con- 
federacy. V 

The Federal navy was assisting the army in its 
advance on Richmond. On May 15th, 1862, several 
Federal ironclads made an attack on Drewry's Bluff, 
nine miles distant from Richmond, on the James 
River ; but this place was held against them. The 
battle was witnessed by President Jefferson Davis 
and by General Lee, whom Davis had recalled to 
Richmond. 

Lee had already been appointed General of the 
Army of Virginia, and faithfulness to his own 
state was his first consideration; but the war 
area had broadened. So he now accepted an ap- 



112 "^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

pointment as one of five commanding generals of 
the Confederacy. Not yet had Lee entered upon 
that brilliant career which later made him world- 
famous. It opened to him in this way. On May 
31st, 1862, both President Davis and General Lee 
were on the field at the battle of Fair Oaks, or 
Seven Pines as it is sometimes called. It was so 
near Richmond that they could easily ride out and 
observe it. General Joseph E. Johnston was 
wounded on this occasion ; he was hit first in the 
shoulder by a musket ball, and a few moments later 
in the breast by a fragment of a shell. The blow 
toppled him from his horse, and he was borne from 
the field in an ambulance. 

President Davis had long cherished a warm ad- 
miration for Lee, and had held a higher estimate 
of his abilities than the West Virginia campaign 
had been thought by newspaper oracles, to warrant. 
Indeed, throughout all the war, Davis and Lee 
acted with equal friendliness and understanding. 
This could scarcely be said of some of Davis's rela- 
tions with his other generals. 

The Confederate President at once made Lee the 
successor of Johnston ; and the new commanding 
officer began promptly that wonderful leadership 
which to-day ranks him as one of the great military 
heroes of history. 



GENERAL LEE TAKES COMMAND 113 

Whatever campaigns were being pushed in other 
parts of the South and West, Lee's task now was 
to save the capital of the Confederacy, less than six 
miles behind him. Its foes were massed in front 
of him and far outnumbered Lee's own troops. 
The secret of Lee's wonderful generalship, in the 
battles before Richmond, lay in this : he changed 
the Confederate plan of fighting from the " defen- 
sive " to the "offensive " ; he also caught the enemy 
in scattered formation and threw a large force, like 
a "wedge" in a football game, upon a weak point 
in their line. Then he made a pretense of advanc- 
ing upon Washington, which led the Army of the 
Potomac to retreat from its threatening position 
near Richmond, and threw Washington and the 
entire North into a temporary panic. It was one 
of Napoleon Bonaparte's war axioms not to send 
out a battle-line made up of even strength through- 
out against the enemy's lines, but to mass a large 
number of troops against some weak spot in the 
opponent's defenses, to break through, and then 
to repeat the same tactics at other points. Great 
as were the moral defects of Napoleon, he was a 
military genius; and Robert E. Lee had studied 
his campaigns as he had also studied those of Fred- 
erick the Great, Wellington, and other famous 
generals. Doubtless he had learned from all of 



114 ™ ROBERT E. LEE 

them. By none of them was he surpassed in his 
masterly strategy at several points in the Civil 
War. 

At this time, before Richmond, in June, 1862, 
he made one of his brilliant strokes of strategy. 
General McClellan had moved steadily on toward 
Richmond, despite a few attempts to check him; 
he was intrenched upon the banks of the Chicka- 
hominy River. Lee had restored some degree of 
confidence to the Confederate troops by directing 
them to throw up earthworks with which to pro- 
tect themselves. The number of his soldiers was 
about 85,000, as against McClellan's force of 110,- 
000. Evidently a direct or frontal attack on the 
Federals would result in disaster for the Southern 
forces, for both armies were equally brave. So 
Lee resorted to strategy ; he sent word to Stonewall 
Jackson, fifty miles north of him, to be ready to 
come promptly when ordered. He also made a 
show of sending two brigades northward, to 
strengthen Jackson, as if he himself had more than 
enough troops to overcome McClellan. 

That act made the Union general extremely ner- 
vous, as he usually estimated an opposing Confed- 
erate force at fifty per cent more than its real size. 
Along the James River McClellan had used balloons 
to spy out the size and position of the Confederates ; 



GENERAL LEE TAKES COMMAND 115 

but along the banks of the Chickahominy the coun- 
try was so densely wooded that balloons were of 
little value. 

Accordingly, McClellan had no correct idea of 
the number of Lee's men. Lee then summoned 
that dashing young cavalryman, "Jeb" Stuart, 
who had assisted him in the capture of "Old John 
Brown," and asked him to scout around the right 
wing of the enemy, and find out his strength. 
Stuart's response to this request was one of the 
most daring cavalry raids ever recorded. With 
1200 men he set out, circled the Federal right, at- 
tacked and scattered several bodies of cavalry 
that tried to stop him, and made his way to the rear 
of the Federal army, thus learning exactly its size 
and strength. Then, as the enemy were now 
aroused along the track he had just passed over, he 
boldly continued his headlong ride, circled the Fed- 
eral left wing, and came victoriously into camp, 
having lost but one man from his entire troop, and 
after being in the saddle more than forty hours. 
Jeb Stuart was now prepared to give Lee full and 
exact information. At one point in this daring 
raid, which astonished North and South and nearly 
paralyzed McClellan, Stuart had found his force 
confronted by a swollen river, the bridge having 
been carried away. Near by stood a barn. The 



n6 ~ ROBERT E. LEE 

resourceful leader promptly directed that this struc- 
ture be torn down and a bridge built from its 
materials. This was done, and the marvelous raid 
was triumphantly completed. 

General Lee now knew the size of his opponent's 
army, and he knew, from his acquaintance with 
McClellan's character, that the Federal leader had 
overestimated the Confederate strength. Imme- 
diately Lee sent word to Jackson to attack from the 
North ; and, leaving 2 5,000 of his troops on the Rich- 
mond bank of the Chickahominy, to engage Mc- 
Clellan's center and left wing, with his remaining 
60,000 he crossed the river and attacked the Federal 
right wing. 

It was daring strategy, indeed, to leave only 
25,000 men between the Union army and Rich- 
mond ; still, Lee knew that McClellan would ima- 
gine the number to be twice as large; therefore 
Lee's very boldness in crossing to the northern 
side of the river carried alarm to the Northern 
troops. Naturally, the result was a victory for 
the Confederates, even without the aid of Jackson, 
who, exhausted by recent overwork, failed to co- 
operate promptly with his commanding officer. 

In most great battles, each general constantly 
keeps in mind the possibility of ''turning his 
enemy's flank." Usually the " center" is more 



GENERAL LEE TAKES COMMAND 117 

difficult to penetrate; but the wings, or ends, of 
the battle line often may be encircled or " turned," 
which opens them to a rear attack or a side attack. 

It must not be supposed that this masterly re- 
pulse of the Federal army before Richmond was 
accomplished by General Robert E. Lee alone; 
he was ably supported by splendid soldiers, such 
as Stonewall Jackson, A. P. Hill, D. H. Hill, Long- 
street, Magruder, Stuart, and others. Nevertheless, 
Lee's heart and will were in control. He carried all 
the enormous responsibility. Indeed, President 
Davis sent word to him from Richmond, "If it were 
anybody but you who had planned such a daring 
attack, I would countermand it." But the Con- 
federate President trusted his general, and his 
trust was justified. 

For seven days, after this bold attack opened, 
the Federals retreated slowly and in good order, 
while the Confederates followed, giving them battle 
at one point after another. Finally, McClellan 
brought his men, sadly lessened in numbers, and 
much disheartened by their defeats, into safety, 
under the protection of fortifications at Harrison's 
Landing. McClellan's expedition against the 
stronghold of the Confederacy had failed utterly; 
he could organize the Army of the Potomac, but 
he could not outgeneral the Confederate leader 



Ii8 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

against whom he fought. He stated to President 
Lincoln that he believed the enemy numbered as 
many as 200,000 men. When the facts of the 
" Peninsular Campaign" became known, anxious 
President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton 
saw that some other man must be put in McClellan's 
position. 



CHAPTER XIII 
Lee and his War Horse 

Although McClellan had retreated from the 
vicinity of Richmond, and the anxiety of that city 
was somewhat relieved, yet he had intrenched him- 
self at Harrison's Landing, not fifty miles away; 
and Lee, at Richmond, decided to find some means 
of sending him back to Washington. 

What the brilliant Confederate strategist planned 
was this; he would run the risk of leaving only 
20,000 men to guard Richmond, and, with the re- 
mainder of his forces cooperating with Jackson 
farther north, he would carry the war into Mary- 
land, thus threatening Washington. This " ag- 
gressive" or " offensive" campaign Lee began at 
once. 

His opponents now were General Irvin McDowell, 
who was at Fredericksburg, and General John 
Pope, who had boastingly declared that he had 
never seen anything but the backs of his enemies, 
and dated his letters sensationally from, "Head- 
quarters in the Saddle." 

119 



120 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 



General Lee never gave minute directions to his 
generals, Stuart, Jackson, Longstreet, and Johnston, 
but always left them some freedom of choice as to 
their movements; so he was not surprised when 
Jackson, on August 9th, 1862, struck at that corps 
of Pope's army which was under the command of 
General N. P. Banks, at Cedar Run, and scattered 
it. Jackson was famous for the speed with which 
he moved. He defeated Banks, and retired to 
Gordonsville, without giving Pope time to attack 
with his whole army. 

News of Banks's defeat greatly disturbed the 
Federal government at Washington; and, fearing 
that Lee might move swiftly upon that city, they 
summoned McClellan to its protection, quite as 
Lee had planned; so that Richmond was greatly 
relieved by the departure of the Union forces from 
the peninsula. 

By the capture of Stuart's adjutant-general 
bearing a letter from Lee to Stuart, the Confederate 
plans became known to Pope and he hastily re- 
treated. Stuart, disappointed by this movement of 
his foe, felt somewhat compensated soon after by 
capturing, in a night attack, Pope's headquarters at 
Catlett's Station, where he found important papers. 

General Lee was amazed at Pope's escape, for 
he had planned to give him an overwhelming defeat. 




The Robert E. Lee Monument, Richmond, Virginia. 
Unveiled in May, 1890. Designed by Antonio Mercie, of Paris. 



LEE AND HIS WAR HORSE 121 

Now that the Union forces had the Rappahannock, 
swollen by rains, to protect them, he needed to plan 
some other attack. After waiting five days for the 
river to subside, he executed one of the pieces of 
strategy which made him so famous. To under- 
stand it, weimust recall that " flanking" an enemy's 
line of battle means striking him where he cannot 
so easily defend himself as on the front. Lee used 
half his force, led by Longstreet, to hold Pope's 
attention in front, and then ordered Jackson and 
some of Stuart's cavalry to proceed by Thorough- 
fare Gap to the rear of Pope's army. Jackson, 
whose movements were so quick that his soldiers 
(infantry) were jokingly called "Foot Cavalry," 
was as rapid as usual in his advance. Fitzhugh 
Lee tells us that the men were supplied, on starting, 
with cooked rations for three days ; but, after the 
first few hours of marching, most of their rations 
were thrown away, as the men preferred the green 
corn from the August crops in the fields all about 
them. They flavored these ears of corn by rubbing 
their meat rations upon them; and they ended 
their meals with fruit and vegetables from the 
gardens along the way. Pope found himself hemmed 
in, and not being certain of the size of the encompass- 
ing Confederate forces, changed his base to Ma- 
nassas Junction. After considerable maneuvering 



122 ^* ROBERT E. LEE 

and several short encounters the two armies joined 
in battle, and fought through two days, August 
29th and 30th, 1862. 

General A. L. Long gives us an account of a nar- 
row escape of Lee's, which occurred just before the 
second battle of Manassas; it was the only time, 
so far as we know, when the great Confederate 
leader was in actual danger of capture. The story 
is told that a Mrs. Marshall, a hospitable woman 
and a friend of the Confederacy, invited Generals 
Lee and Longstreet to take supper with her and 
to remain under her roof overnight. This was 
an agreeable invitation to the fatigued officers, 
who had spent most of their nights in tents, and 
had eaten the plainest of soldier fare from rusty tin 
plates. The visit with Mrs. Marshall was to end 
at breakfast, early the next morning. So, at that 
time, having eaten and taken leave of their hostess, 
the two officers set out on horseback. Longstreet 
went in one direction, while Lee with his staff rode 
on over the turnpike toward Salem. Suddenly a 
quartermaster, who had been riding well ahead 
of the group, came galloping back, crying, "The 
Federals are coming!" And at that moment a 
Federal squadron appeared in the distance, riding 
briskly toward them. The situation was one of 
great peril, not only to Lee himself, but to the 



LEE AND HIS WAR HORSE 123 

whole South, of which he was practically the fore- 
most man. But his staff, about twelve men in all, 
were equal to the occasion. They formed in line, 
promptly, across the highway, facing the oncoming 
soldiers. At the same time they begged Lee to 
retreat; they expected an attack, and believed 
that their best service to their commander lay in 
checking, for a time, the onslaught of the Union 
force. To their amazement, however, the enemy 
halted, and, after a moment's hasty consultation, 
turned and rode away. They had inferred, from 
the bold front shown by the Confederates, that a 
large force was close behind them, and that a trap 
was laid. Thus narrowly did Lee escape capture. 
Had he been made a prisoner at this time the loss 
to the South would have been tremendous. 

On that same day, probably the 26th of August, 
1862, another little incident occurred which shows 
us the great Southern leader on his human and 
friendly side. A certain woman of wealth and 
social position, living near Salem, greatly desired 
to see the famous General Lee. Accordingly, 
she and her daughter, in a carriage drawn by a 
pair of superb horses, drove out to a point where 
Lee was likely to pass. She encountered, on the 
road, this same squadron of Federal cavalry which 
had so nearly captured General Lee; and they 



124 ~^* ROBERT E. LEE 

promptly took possession of her horses, leaving 
the disconsolate lady and her daughter sitting in 
their "horseless carriage " in the middle of the 
highway. Soon afterward Lee arrived at that spot, 
inquired about their singular position, and, in his 
charming and courtly way, gave them all the sym- 
pathy he could. The mother afterward loved to 
tell this story of her interview with him, always 
ending with a laugh and the remark, "I did indeed 
see him, as I had wished; but I don't feel quite 
reconciled, even to this day, at the price I had to 
pay — a pair of splendid horses — for that in- 
terview." 

General Lee was now the recognized leader of 
the Confederate forces. His knowledge of the 
Union leaders and his resourcefulness and daring 
made his soldiers feel absolute confidence in what- 
ever he commanded them to do. It may be inter- 
esting, here, to note Lee's appearance at this time, 

— the year 1862. Dr. J. William Jones, one of 
Lee's devoted biographers, has written thtfsT^ 

"General Lee was certainly one of the most su- 
perb-looking soldiers whom the world ever saw. 
I had first seen him on the day on which he came 
to offer his sword to the state that gave him birth, 

— the home of his love. At that time he had a 
smooth face, — save a moustache, — and his 



LEE AND HIS WAR HORSE 125 

hair had only a few silver threads in it. Now he 
wore a full beard ; and that and his hair were as 
white as the driven snow; his graceful, knightly 
bearing, his eagle eye, and the very expression of 
his face, all betokened mingled firmness and 
gentleness, and showed the true soldier. But when 
Lee mounted, he sat his horse with easy grace; 
he seemed indeed a part of that horse, and was 
the finest horseman I ever saw. His famous war 
horse, Traveler (which Captain Gordon McCabe 
once said 'always stepped as if conscious that he 
bore a king on his back'), was as well known in the 
army as his master." The following description 
of him is given by General Long : 

" Traveler was purchased by Lee during the West 
Virginia campaign. This noble steed bore his 
master royally throughout the war, and during 
several years afterward. A letter which General 
Lee dictated to his daughter Agnes seems to have 
been written in reply to some artist's inquiries. It 
reveals the tenderness of the great soldier, who, as 
we have before seen, had always cherished a warm 
regard for the many pets which were nurtured in 
his family. This letter, in part, runs thus : c If I 
were an artist, like you, I would draw a true picture 
of Traveler, representing his fine proportions, mus- 
cular figure, deep chest, and short back, strong 



i 2 6 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 



haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead, 
delicate ears, quick eye, small feet, and black mane 
and tail. Such a picture would inspire a poet who 
could then depict his worth, and describe his en- 
durance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat, cold, and the 
dangers and sufferings through which he has passed. 
He could dilate upon his sagacity, affection, and his 
invariable response to every wish of his rider. He 
might even imagine his thoughts, through the long 
night marches, and the days of battle through 
which he has passed. But I am no artist ; I can 
say only that he is a Confederate gray; he has 
carried me through the Seven Days' battle around 
Richmond, the Second Manassas battle, Sharps- 
burg (An tie tarn), and many others. '" 

Evidently there was close sympathy between 
these two friends, man and horse. It is said that 
the intelligence and trust of Traveler in his master 
was so great that once, when the horse had been 
debarked from a steamboat, becoming excited by 
the confusion and strange sounds on the wharf, he 
started up the street, alone, and was on the point 
of breaking into a wild gallop. At this moment 
Lee, directing the crowd to cease their shouts, gave 
a peculiar whistle, and Traveler, hearing it, at 
once turned about toward the familiar signal, and 
returned to his master. 



LEE AND HIS WAR HORSE 127 

In trying to portray clearly and accurately the 
character of our distinguished soldier it has already 
been pointed out that this heroic man was so free 
from ordinary human faults that the historian or 
student is liable to picture him as an unreal fancy, 
spun from some admirer's brain. But General 
Walter H. Taylor, of Lee's staff, has given us many 
little reminiscences which throw light on that 
human side of the great man's character which can- 
not find expression in military reports, or in the 
opinions of critics who never met Lee face to face. 
General Taylor tells us that his commander dis- 
liked the routine of revising official papers and re- 
ports. "Therefore," he says, "I did not present 
any paper to him unless it was of serious impor- 
tance. On one occasion, when I had not asked his 
attention to such matters for several days, it be- 
came needful for me to hold an interview with him. 
So I submitted the few papers which needed atten- 
tion. He was not in a calm mood ; he was fatigued 
and irritable ; he showed the mood by little nervous 
jerks of the head, peculiar to himself, and some 
severity of manner. Noting this, I felt that my 
efforts to save his time and attention were not ap- 
preciated. Presently I threw down the paper that 
I was holding, and showed that I was angry. At 
this, he altered his manner instantly; in a per- 



128 ^_ ROBERT E. LEE 



fectly calm tone he said, ' Colonel Taylor, when I 
lose my temper don't let it make you angry.' " 

Then General Taylor, at that time a colonel, 
comments, " Was there ever a more gentle and con- 
siderate yet so positive a reproof ? How magnan- 
imous in that great soldier! My disrespectful 
manner justified stern treatment at the hands of my 
superior officer. But he, the foremost man of his 
day and generation, condescended to reason with 
me, his youthful subaltern, and to acknowledge, 
with a beautiful frankness, his own imperfection." 

Lee's youngest son, Robert E. Lee, Jr., had 
wished, at the opening of hostilities between the 
North and South, to enter the Southern army. 
As he was a student at Washington College at the 
time, his father did not quite approve his plan ; 
but later, in 1862, there was need of new men in 
the army, so he enlisted as a private in the Rock- 
bridge Artillery, of Stonewall Jackson's corps. 
This younger " Robert E. Lee" wrote an excellent 
book about his father, called " Recollections and 
Letters of General Lee." From that volume the 
following incident is taken. 

Young Lee says, "When I again saw my father, 
he was riding at the head of Longstreet's men, on 
the field of Manassas ; and we of Jackson's corps, 
hard pressed by Pope for two days, welcomed him 



LEE AND HIS WAR HORSE 129 

and the division that followed him, with cheers of 
delight. Two rifled guns, from our battery, were 
detached and sent to join Longstreet's advance 
artillery. I was ' Number One/ at one of those 
guns. We advanced rapidly, from hill to hill, 
firing as fast as we could, trying to keep ahead of 
our gallant comrades who had just arrived. As 
we were ordered to cease firing, and were lying down, 
resting beside our guns, General Lee and his staff 
galloped up. The general reined in Traveler close 
by my gun, not fifteen feet away. I looked at him 
and he did not recognize me. I was smeared with 
the red soil of that region and my face and hands 
were grimed with powder. I went over and spoke 
to General Mason, of the staff, and he did not know 
me; when I told him who I was he was much 
amused, and introduced me to several other officers 
whom I had previously met. Presently my father 
lowered his field glasses, after observing the enemy, 
and then General Mason spoke to him, 'Here, 
General, is somebody who wants to meet you/ 
My father, seeing before him only a mud-stained 
artilleryman, sponge-staff in hand, said, 'Well, my 
man, what can I do for you?' Then I replied, 
laughing, 'Why, General, don't you know me?' 
At once he recognized me, and told me how glad he 
was to see me safe and well." 



130 "*^ ROBERT E. LEE 

This meeting between father and son was the 
merest accident ; much of the time during the war 
they knew little of each other's location. In a letter 
which General Lee wrote at this time to his wife he 
says jocosely, " When you write to Rob, tell him to 
catch Pope for me ; and also tell him to bring in his 
cousin, Louis Marshall, who, I am told, is on Pope's 
staff. I could forgive Louis for fighting against us, 
but not for his joining Pope." 

Again Lee writes, " Johnny Lee (a nephew) saw 
Louis Marshall, after Jackson's last battle ; he said 
that Louis looked wretched. I am sorry he is in 
such bad company. I suppose he could not help 
himself." 

This reference to the Union army as being "bad 
company" was only a make-believe. In reality, 
General Lee knew the high quality of the men op- 
posed to him, and felt no hatred of them. General 
Long, of Lee's staff, has said that his chief never 
used any bitter or violent language in speaking of 
the Federal officers and their men. Indeed, he 
often alluded to some of the Northern officers, 
whom he had known in other days, in terms of 
great friendliness. 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Battle of Antietam 

It has been said, by some critics of the Civil War 
campaigns, that General Lee fought chiefly on the 
" defensive," and that his defensive strategy was 
what earned him his high reputation. But such 
critics probably base their views on Lee's masterly 
tactics near the end of the war, forgetting his 
earlier battles. The campaign which Lee now 
mapped out, in the autumn of 1862, was of the most 
aggressive, even daring, character. 

Richmond was safe, but only for a little while, 
as Lee knew. He read the Northern newspapers 
regularly, and they babbled freely to the four 
quarters of heaven of all the Federal positions, 
plans, and equipment; he knew that the capital 
of the Confederacy must soon, for a second time, 
undergo attack unless he could distract attention 
from it. So he planned to cross the border-line of 
Virginia (that state being wholly Confederate) into 
Maryland (which divided its support between 

131 



i 3 2 ^* ROBERT E. LEE 

North and South), and strengthen his own army 
with recruits ; then he would threaten Washington, 
the nerve-center of the Union. 

The government at Washington was much dis- 
appointed by Pope's failure to advance the Federal 
cause. General Halleck had been summoned by 
President Lincoln to act as military adviser at 
Washington, and this office he held throughout 
the war. Pope was now recalled to Washington 
for its defense. The command of the Army of the 
Potomac was twice offered to General Burnside, 
and was declined. Finally McClellan was re- 
stored to its command. This renewed the con- 
fidence of the troops, if it did not quite satisfy the 
North; and Lee, advancing out of Virginia, re- 
joiced that his opponent was once more the man 
whom he had outgeneraled in the Seven Days' 
battles before Richmond. 

It was about the middle of September, 1862, the 
second year of the war, when Lee set forth on his 
march toward Maryland. He sent Stonewall 
Jackson to recapture Harper's Ferry. A few miles 
beyond this town lay the village of Sharpsburg, 
and close by it Antietam Creek, flowing into the 
Potomac River. At this place was fought one of 
the fiercest battles of the entire war, through a 
period of several days. 



THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM 133 

It was fought by Lee with 45,000 soldiers, and by 
McClellan with 85,000. McClellan had tried hard 
to reach Harper's Ferry and check Jackson; but 
he was never speedy in his movements, and he fired 
signal guns all along his route, to encourage the de- 
fenders of the besieged town. It was all in vain ; 
he was too late. After a struggle of a few hours 
Harper's Ferry surrendered. Messengers on swift 
horses bore the news to Lee's army, and they were 
much gladdened. McClellan now turned his at- 
tention to Lee, and the two armies were soon facing 
each other. 

The first move was made by McClellan, who sent 
General Hooker, on the evening of the 16th, across 
the "Creek." But this advance was checked by 
Jackson (now come from Harper's Ferry), near the 
"Dunker Church." Now came the sudden strate- 
gic move which only a master of war tactics could 
have conceived. Lee's plan of battle had become 
known to McClellan through an accident. Luckily 
Lee discovered this fact. At once he changed his 
plans. Although a part of his force had just been 
driven back' at the passes of South Mountain, 
he decided to take up a position at Sharpsburg. 
There he was supported by Generals Ewell, Jones, 
Jackson, Longstreet, A. P. Hill, Hood, and others. 
McClellan's generals included Hooker, Sumner, 



134 ROBERT E. LEE 

Sedgwick, Franklin, and many equally famous 
leaders. 

The fighting, on that first day of "Antietam," 
was as fierce and deadly as on any one day of the 
terrible four years. General Longstreet, a veteran 
of many battles, so stated in his book, "From Ma- 
nassas to Appomattox." If we were to look for the 
point, in all that battle line, where the struggle was 
fiercest, we would name the "Sunken Road," where 
for nearly two hours "good men and true," in blue 
and gray, savagely sought one another's lives ; and 
the awful gulf was at last filled to its bloody brim 
with dead and dying men, so that persons might 
cross upon them, as upon a ghastly corduroy road. 
That place is called, to-day, "Bloody Lane;" and 
the tourist may profitably stand beside it, and muse, 
not only upon the horrors of war, but upon the folly 
and futility of war, which settles nothing on a basis 
of justice, but simply decides which of the contest- 
ants is the more skillful in killing human beings. 
We are nearing the day when we shall settle all 
disputes between nations as we already do between 
individuals and states, by federation and judicial 
procedure. 

At the close of two days' fighting at Antietam 
each side claimed a victory; and in such a state 
of rival claims the victory is usually conceded to 



THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM 135 

the army that holds its ground. At Antietam the 
Confederates retreated, but they left few spoils 
for the enemy, and defiantly intrenched themselves 
just across the Potomac. It is easy, at this remote 
day, to point out the " might-have-beens" ; one of 
them, agreed upon by most historians, is that if 
McClellan had sent his soldiers into the fight in 
larger masses he could have put his enemy to rout. 
However, a nominal victory remained for the 
Northern troops, and each side lost about one 
quarter of its men. 

So the battle of Sharpsburg, or Antietam, was 
over, and 20,000 men lay dead or wounded on the 
field ; while thousands of homes, North and South, 
knew not as yet their grief and desolation. We 
have already seen, in a previous chapter, how a 
war that is fought, all within one country — an 
" internecine " war, as it is called — is more terrible 
than one between two alien races. One incident in 
the battle of Antietam well illustrates this point. 
At the ford, near Burnside bridge, a Northern colo- 
nel, leading his regiment, was killed by a Con- 
federate division which was commanded by that 
colonel's brother. 

But the war, being fully under way, must never- 
theless go on. The Federal authorities at Wash- 
ington, disappointed that McClellan had not 



136 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

followed up his repulse of the Southern troops at 
Antietam by a swift pursuit and another attack, 
relieved him from his command, and General 
Ambrose Burnside was put in his place. This 
excellent officer, as we have noted, did not desire 
so much responsibility. He probably knew his 
own abilities, preferring to serve in a subordinate 
position ; and the battle of Fredericksburg, fought 
on December 13th, 1862, proved that he was 
right. 

Meanwhile, Lee was resting and strengthening 
his army, and none knew better than he how to do 
this. He himself, as much as any, needed rest and 
healing; for he fought that battle of Antietam 
as a disabled but determined leader, for not long 
before he had been injured in both his hands and 
wrists by a sudden start of his horse, Traveler, as 
he was standing with the bridle-rein over one arm, 
beside the horse. All through the battle he was 
forced to walk or to ride in an ambulance, leaving 
Traveler to be led by an orderly. Singularly 
enough, Jackson also was suffering in that battle 
from an injury received by the rearing and falling 
of a horse. The two great chieftains certainly 
fought under difficulties; and when the struggle 
was ended both were as much in need of rest and 
recuperation as were their subordinates. 



THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM 137 

In time, officers and men of the ranks regained 
their usual strength, and the carnage of battle 
seemed for a time far away. Lee's soldiers not 
only believed him to be the ablest among all the 
leaders on both sides, but his noble character, as 
they came in contact with it, called out their 
profound respect and affection. A story is told, 
on good authority, which illustrates the stern sim- 
plicity of his daily mode of life. Indulgence in 
strong drink was always abhorrent to him, and he 
frowned upon it, whenever it came to his notice, 
among officers or private soldiers. One day, 
shortly after the Antietam battle, he called together 
some of his staff, saying, with a peculiar smile, 
" Come and join me in my tent ! I've had some- 
thing pretty good sent me. It's in a jug ; and the 
man who presented it to me told me that it was the 
very best that the country about here produces." 

His friends promptly accepted his invitation; 
but some of them, warned by his significant smile, 
had suspicions. " Thanks to you, General," they 
responded. " Show us the quality of it ! " 

So they stood around him, each with a battered, 
rusty tin cup, such as they made use of in their 
rough campaigning; and Lee, with much gravity 
and care, as if every drop were precious, slowly 
raised the jug, uncorked it, and poured out into 



138 ROBERT E. LEE 

the first man's cup, some — fresh buttermilk ! 
" There ! " he declared, " that's the best this coun- 
try can produce ! I hope you will enjoy it." 

And certainly they did enjoy it; and they en- 
joyed, as well, the pleasantry of their splendid com- 
mander, who usually was too heavily burdened with 
care to relax in this delightful way. 

Let it here be said that General Lee's manner 
changed gradually, throughout the war, as reverses 
came ; as the lists of dead and wounded mounted 
up, and as the outlook for the South grew darker. 
That great man's face often wore a smile, but it 
was the smile of a consecrated saint or hero; it 
bore the light of a holy resignation to a Supreme 
Will. Some who met him could not understand it. 
Others, of keener sympathy, who knew how un- 
sullied a conscience he bore, who knew how unself- 
ish was his devotion to his state, — these recog- 
nized that smile as of heaven, not of earth, and 
behind it, ever, the clear mind and strong will of one 
who was putting forth every atom of his strength 
in the cause he had espoused. 

The battle of Antietam being ended, probably 
not one of the combatants knew how important 
an influence that fierce struggle was fated to exer- 
cise at Washington. But the truth was that Presi- 
dent Lincoln had been holding back, for months, 



THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM 139 

a document which was of the deepest significance, 
not only to three millions of enslaved negroes, but 
to the entire country as well. That document was 
the " Emancipation Proclamation. " Lincoln had 
seen from the first that under the demand of " State 
Rights" lay hidden the great problem of slavery. 
He felt sure that this deeper and more fundamental 
cause of the Secession must come to the front, sooner 
or later. So he had worked out his views on the 
subject, committed them to paper, and locked that 
momentous document in his desk as early in the 
year 1862 as July 2 2d, awaiting the day when the 
North would listen to its announcement favorably. 
The battle of Antietam was fought on September 
17th ; and, although both sides claimed the victory, 
the North, as we have seen, could present better 
claims, inasmuch as the Confederates had retreated, 
short as that retreat was ; and the Federal troops 
rejoiced, and their confidence in ultimate success 
was strengthened. Now came the psychological 
moment for this great Proclamation. It could 
now be issued by the Federal government as one 
incident in a victorious programme, not as an at- 
tempt to fortify anxious spirits in the hour of de- 
feat. So President Lincoln called together his 
Cabinet, and read them what he had written two 
months before, saying to them with deep solem- 



140 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

nity, " The enemy has now been driven out of Mary- 
land, and I am going to fulfill the promise I made to 
myself and my God. I have called you together to 
hear what I have written. I do not want your 
advice in the matter; I have settled all that for 
myself." 

Here we have the tender, wise, brave spirit of 
Abraham Lincoln asserting itself in all its moral 
and spiritual sublimity. Like Robert E. Lee he 
possessed a nature essentially devout ; like Lee he 
had put away from himself all petty or selfish 
interests. 

The ''Proclamation," which Lincoln read to his 
Cabinet on that 2 2d day of September, 1862, ran 
substantially thus: "On the first day of January, 
1863, all persons held as slaves within any state, 
or any designated part of a state whose people 
shall then be in rebellion against the United States, 
shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." 



CHAPTER XV 
The Battle of Fredericksburg 

In all this recital of the events of Robert E. Lee's 
campaigns, we must remember that he was direct- 
ing only a part of the Southern army in its struggle 
against the Union ; and the battles fought in Vir- 
ginia and Maryland were not the only battles of 
the war. Fighting was going on, during these 
first two years, in several of the Southern states, 
and, quite as important, the navies of the South 
and North were grappling with each other on the 
ocean and in bays and rivers among the states. 
Already General Ulysses S. Grant had won laurels 
by his capture, assisted by Commodore Foote, of 
Fort Henry ; Fort Donelson also was taken. Then 
came the defeat of that singular Confederate craft, 
the Merritnac, by the recently invented Monitor. 
On April 6th and 7th occurred the battle of Shiloh, 
while on April 28th, 1862, Admiral Farragut cap- 
tured New Orleans. 

These stirring events were all-important features 
of the war in the West, but our study of General Lee 

141 



142 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

restricts us to the East, and chiefly to two states. 
The nearness to each other of Washington and 
Richmond naturally affected the plans of both 
North and South. Each side strove to capture 
the other's seat of government; and Lee, at this 
time, December, 1862, was pushing up into Mary- 
land to threaten Washington, thus diverting the 
Union Army of the Potomac from marching upon 
Richmond. 

Enough has been written on any one of the prin- 
cipal battles of the Civil War to fill an entire book. 
On the other hand, the battle of Fredericksburg 
(December 13th, 1862) might be condensed, as in 
some school history of the United States, to one 
short paragraph. Indeed, one of the best short 
histories of our country thus speaks of this battle : 
"McClellan's course had dissatisfied the adminis- 
tration, and his command was given to General 
Ambrose Burnside, who attempted to move upon 
Richmond by way of Fredericksburg. But Lee 
placed himself upon the hills behind the town, 
and when Burnside crossed the river, met his at- 
tack and completely defeated him." 

Such a summary of the day's doings tells little of 
the heroism and agony of which the day was full. 
These vital revelations come out as we read more 
minutely of the details of the terrific struggle. 



THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG 143 

Lee had come down the river from the west, station- 
ing his forces on the heights above the town, await- 
ing the advance of Burnside, who was now in com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac. With artillery 
thoroughly intrenched, the Confederates, 78,000 
in number, awaited the attack of the Federals, 
113,000 in number. It is generally understood, 
now, that Burnside, a kind-hearted man and effi- 
cient in more limited fields of duty, was, on this 
dreadful day, confused by his heavy cares and un- 
equal to the strategic demands made upon him. 

The Federal troops laid pontoon bridges across 
the Rappahannock River, on the eleventh of the 
month, and a fog had aided them in this. The 
next day a crossing was completed. On the morn- 
ing of the thirteenth the Federals began their at- 
tack of the hills where the Confederates were in- 
trenched. With great loss of life for the Union 
forces, the crest of the hill was reached, and then 
was lost. The fiercest scene of the battle was the 
storming of "Marye's Heights," which were 
strongly protected. 

"Six times did the brave Union troops attempt 
to fight their way up that part of the hill," wrote 
General Lee, "and our infantry mowed them down." 
General Couch, one of the Federal commanders, 
overcome by anguish on seeing this awful slaughter, 



144 *^w ROBERT E. LEE 

exclaimed fiercely, " Great God, see how our brave 
fellows are falling ! It is nothing less than murder, 
now." And General Hooker, " Fighting Joe 
Hooker,' ' who had complained, up to that day, 
that he had not seen righting enough, when he wit- 
nessed the hopeless attempt of his gallant Union 
soldiers to obey orders which meant certain death, 
put spurs to his horse, galloped over to Burnside, 
and begged him to allow the forces to fall back. 
But Burnside, now almost deranged by the plight 
in which he found himself and his men, became 
obstinate, and ordered the assault to be continued. 
Next came "Humphrey's Charge," in which 45,000 
soldiers, untrained men, were led by him in a bay- 
onet charge at the bullet-swept line. Thereupon 
that stone wall became a "sheet of flame" as the 
Confederates behind it shot down the attacking 
party. 

The battle of Fredericksburg was a bloody one, 
but chiefly for the Union forces, who were on the 
"aggressive." The Confederates won the battle 
more easily than they won any other battle of the 
war. That was due largely to their advantageous 
position. There were scores of incidents connected 
with that struggle which are interesting to read, 
and some of them even humorous, amid the gloom 
of smoke and death. "During the battle of Fred- 



THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG 145 

ericksburg," writes Major Robert Stiles, of the 
Southern army, "I was sent into the city with a 
message to General Barksdale. I rode down one 
street swept by artillery fire ; in the distance came 
along the street a lone woman, walking calmly 
toward the general's headquarters. She seemed 
to think the screaming shells 'interesting/ She 
stopped, at one place, to gaze unconcernedly into 
a chasm just torn in the sidewalk by a projectile. 
It was an extremely dangerous place, that street, 
at that moment. Presently she arrived at the 
general's headquarters, in one of the houses. She 
knocked, and waited. One of the staff, throwing 
open the door and seeing her, exclaimed in amaze- 
ment, raising his hands, ' What on earth, Madam, 
are you doing here ? Do go to some safer place ! ' 

"She smiled and replied tartly, ' Young gentle- 
man, you seem excited. Will you please say to the 
general that a lady wishes to speak with him ? ' 

"The young officer exclaimed, ' He can't see you ; 
he's too busy.' But she would not be put off, and 
continued, ' General Barksdale is a Southern gentle- 
man, sir, and will not refuse to see a lady who has 
called upon him.' 

"He attempted to send her away, but in vain. 
General Barksdale now appeared in the doorway. 
'For God's sake, Madam,' he cried, actually wring- 



146 ^^> ROBERT E. LEE 

ing his hands in his fear for her safety, 'go and 
seek some place of safety ! I'll send an officer with 
you, to help you find one.' 

" She smiled back at him, and while he fumed and 
almost swore, she said quietly, ' General Barksdale, 
my cow has just been struck by a shell. She is 
fat, and I don't wish the Yankees to get her. If you 
will send somebody to butcher her, you are welcome 
to the meat.' " 

A very self-controlled person she certainly was, 
and Major Stiles narrates further: " Years after- 
ward I delivered a memorial address at Fredericks- 
burg, and I told this incident. Immediately I 
noticed an increased interest on the part of the 
audience. They ceased looking at me and gazed 
with amusement toward one part of the hall. My 
eyes soon followed theirs, and there, before me, 
sat the very lady. Then the audience arose and 
gave three cheers." 

As an illustration of the way in which war can 
embitter human hearts, and shatter friendships, 
there was the incident in this battle told of a young 
man, Lane Brandon, a graduate of Yale and a pupil 
at the Harvard Law School when the war broke out. 
He was at the head of a force of Confederates 
which began skirmishing with a Federal force ad- 
vancing against them . B randon suddenly received a 



THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG 147 

command to retreat in good order ; but, at the same 
moment, he learned that the enemy's force was 
commanded by Abbott, who had been his chum at 
the Harvard Law School. Instantly Brandon be- 
came excited, furious. "I'll not retreat before 
him," he cried. "I'll show him that we know how 
to fight." So he ordered an advance ; but this was 
likely to disarrange the plans already laid by the 
Confederates. The only way to check his frenzied 
words and acts was to put him under arrest. This 
was done, and one of his subordinates led the troop 
out of the town. 

When we contrast with such a madness of excite- 
ment the bearing and words of General Lee, we 
can see what a mastery over himself the great 
soldier exercised. Those who have written about 
him as he appeared on that day tell us that he 
was calm, even smiling, at times, and again sad, 
yet never losing his clearness of mind, never giving 
way to the powerful emotions which must have been 
surging in his heart. And how impartially he ana- 
lyzed his own feelings ! Some one heard him reflect, 
as he gazed out over the battle-field, and responded 
to its tremendous excitement, "It is well that this 
is so terrible, else we might grow fond of it." There 
spoke the true heart of the great leader. No 
such self-repression would have been possible to 



148 *^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

Napoleon Bonaparte, who reveled in the excite- 
ment of battle, with but little care for the wounded 
and dead, who were to him only pawns in the game 
he was playing. 

In Robert E. Lee, Jr.'s " Recollections " he says: 
"I did not see my father at any time during the 
fighting. Days afterward I met him, calm and 
composed. He never referred to his great victory, 
except to deplore the loss of his brave officers and 
men, and the sufferings of the sick and wounded. 
He repeatedly spoke of the hardships endured so 
bravely by the inhabitants of Fredericksburg, the 
old and feeble, the women and children; their 
privations and sufferings cut him to the heart." 
m It is well for us to know, so far as we may, what 
the realities of battle are, in order that we may use 
our influence to have misunderstandings and dis- 
putes settled, not by war, which settles nothing 
justly, but by courts supported by a policing force. 



CHAPTER XVI 

The Battle of Chancellorsville 

The year 1862 drew to a close, the New Year came 
in, and, until April, the two armies, the " Army 
of Northern Virginia" and the "Army of the 
Potomac," lay in winter quarters, only a few miles 
apart. Many were the hardships of both armies ; 
but the Southern army suffered more, because the 
Confederate government could not command the 
necessaries of life as could the Northern states. 

The Rappahannock River lay between the two 
armies. The Confederates had their pickets along 
the south bank, while the Union troops had sta- 
tioned pickets along the northern bank. During 
those long, dreary winter months of waiting the 
men in the two armies grew friendly, exchang- 
ing articles and sending one another jocose 
messages. Quite a fleet of toy sailboats was 
constructed by the ingenious soldiers; these tiny 
boats were fully rigged and painted, and used 
to carry across the river newspapers, coffee, tea, 
tobacco, sugar, and similar luxuries, exchanged by 
the "boys in blue" and the "boys in gray." One 

149 



150 **^ ROBERT E, LEE 

singular pastime, often repeated, was the "Snow 
Fight." The Southern soldiers, after becoming 
rested from the exhaustion of the battle of Freder- 
icksburg, were bored by their idleness ; so, when- 
ever a sufficient amount of snow fell, they organ- 
ized into camps and companies, snowballing one 
another with great vigor. These snow fights were 
highly organized. Strategy was used. Some com- 
batants even received ugly bruises. Such mimic 
conflicts seem strange indeed, when one reflects that 
the soldiers had just been through the terrible battle 
of Fredericksburg, and were on the eve of another, 
Chancellorsville, which was to be equally dreadful. 
Still, when we recall the fact that the average 
age of the men in the Civil War was twenty-one 
years, we can see that they were really "boys," 
having the light spirits and elasticity of youth. 

At length the winter wore away, and the trees 
and plants began to show the action of vital currents 
in their veins. One of the earliest plants to show 
the coming of spring was the sassafras; and the 
Confederates, as one of them has since told us, 
"chewed it, smelled it, and drank it." One of 
the epithets applied, in consequence, to them by 
the Union soldiers, as one Confederate veteran has 
recorded, with amusement, was "Darn sassafras- 
tea-drinking rebels ! " 



THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORS VILLE 151 

But with the return of spring came the revival 
of hostilities. General Hooker was now in com- 
mand of the Union forces, and he laid his plans 
to drive the Southern army toward Richmond. 
His plans, in themselves, were good ones, but they 
were out-matched by Lee in such a masterly way 
that sound war critics call the resulting battle of 
Chancellorsville the most wonderful of all Lee's 
victories. Stated in a condensed form, the battle, 
which was fought on May 2d and 3d, 1863, devel- 
oped in this way. 

Hooker started on the aggressive; he moved, 
with a strong force, across the Rappahannock, 
by a ford several miles above Lee's army. To con- 
ceal this movement, he attacked vigorously from 
the middle of his line, and he also made a feint of 
attacking a few miles below. At first the Confed- 
erate commander could not be sure which of the 
Union advances was the main one, but he soon 
grasped the situation; and he sent one body of 
troops down the river to oppose that Federal ad- 
vance, while he sent another force up the river to 
oppose the other one. But — and here was his 
daring strategic move — he used as few of his men 
as possible in the fighting at the upper ford, and 
sent Stonewall Jackson, with another body of troops, 
out beyond and around that upper crossing. Thus 



152 **^ ROBERT E. LEE 

he flanked the right wing of the Union army. 
Then, closing in, he got the Union troops of the 
upper ford between two fires, cutting them up 
terribly and routing them. Finally, to complete 
his plan, a part of the Confederate soldiers at the 
upper ford were hurried back down the river to 
the lower ford, there reenforcing the men who had 
been giving way before the Union onslaught ; thus 
he turned the Southern retreat at that point into a 
glorious advance. 

This daring plan of battle could never have been 
carried out except by seasoned campaigners like 
Lee's men, and by a master of swift action like 
Stonewall Jackson. Jackson's corps was seen and 
recognized by Union officers as it was moving along 
toward the northwest, in the flanking movement. 
But so completely had those officers and their 
commander, Hooker, misread the nature of Jack- 
son's action that they thought he was in retreat. 
Therefore they relaxed their efforts against the 
small force directly before them, deeming the battle 
already won. Many of them had even stacked 
arms and were cooking before the camp-fires when 
suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, came the impact 
upon their rear of Jackson's corps, and they were 
slaughtered like sheep. 

It was in this battle that General Stonewall 



THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE 153 

Jackson was killed. At this stage of the war the 
matter of uniforms was confusing. Soldiers of 
both armies had replenished their worn-out gar- 
ments from the dead bodies of friends and foes 
on the battle-field, so that a man's clothing did not 
always indicate on which side he was fighting. 
Serious accidents occurred from this cause; and 
one of the most serious was the shooting of Stone- 
wall Jackson by a group of Confederates, they mis- 
taking him for one of the enemy. 

We may easily infer the deep and tender relations 
which existed between these two great military 
chieftains, Lee and Jackson, from the hasty corre- 
spondence which passed between them at the close 
of this battle. Lee wrote to Jackson : 

"I cannot express my regret at this occurrence; 
could I have directed events, I should have chosen, 
for the good of the country, to have been disabled 
in your stead. I congratulate you on the victory, 
which is due to your skill and energy." 

This was before the full seriousness of Jackson's 
wounds was realized. And he replied to Lee in a 
similar generous and noble strain, " Better that ten 
Jacksons should fall than one Lee." A few days 
afterward, when Lee was told that his favorite 
general was improving, he wrote to him playfully, 
" You are better off than I am. For while you have 



154 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

only lost your left arm, I have lost my right.'" And 
still later, on hearing that Jackson was not so well, 
Lee wrote, "Tell him that I am praying for him, 
as I believe I never prayed for myself." 

But the battle of Chancellorsville was a great 
victory for the Southern side in general, and for 
Robert E. Lee in particular. It was rilled, as all 
battles are, with horrors of physical and mental 
suffering, yet there were amusing features as well. 
One of the artillery battalions had a pet dog named 
" Stonewall Jackson." He was small, of a pure 
white color, and of a brave and military spirit. He 
had been trained by one of the officers to attend roll 
call, sit up at "Attention," hold a pipe between his 
teeth, and, at the command "Pipes Out," the 
master slipped the little dog's pipe from between 
his teeth down into his left paw, at his side ; and 
then the intelligent animal sat erect, like a soldier, 
until the inspection was over. As for battles, when 
most dogs would be terrified by the smoke and noise, 
little l ' Stonewall ' ' simply loved them . At Chancel- 
lorsville he ran about excitedly, barking wildly, and 
trying to help his soldier friends. One of them has 
told us of him as follows : " It is surprising that he 
was not killed, or wounded, or lost, in the confusion 
of battle, especially during those three days at the 
last when the brigade changed position quickly. 



THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE 155 

At such a time whoever happened to be nearest 
him, if he could catch hold of him, caught him up 
and dropped him into some empty compartment 
of a limber-chest, clapped down the cover, and 
then the gun dashed away to its new position, 
where some one would release him, and again he 
would leap and bark as if wild with delight. " 

One incident of Chancellorsville will serve to 
make us realize further the involved and fratricidal 
nature of this Civil War. Major General Stiles, 
already referred to and quoted, has told us this: 

" General Semmes captured a Union regiment, 
near the end of the battle; I heard that they 
were ' Hundred Day Men' from New Haven, 
Connecticut. That city was the seat of Yale Col- 
lege, my Alma Mater ; and I walked out to look at 
the captured regiment, thinking that I might 
recognize some of them. I was kept at the proper 
distance by the guard, but I could get near enough 
to see their faces. Several of them I at once recog- 
nized ; but, for a time, I myself was not identified. 
Then a little fellow who had been in my Sunday 
School class at New Haven found me out. How 
he did it was wonderful, for I had changed greatly. 
I wore no hat, my hair was closely clipped, my skin 
was burned to a reddish brown ; I wore a flannel 
shirt, pants, belt, and shoes; shirt wide open, 



156 ^** ROBERT E. LEE 

sleeves rolled up, clothes and skin spattered black 
with powder-water from my sponge where I had 
been serving my gun in the artillery brigade. But 
that little chap called out, suddenly, and a score of 
others took up the shout, ' Bob Stiles ! Bob Stiles ! ' 

" General Lee heard them and called me to him, 
'Do you know these people?' (That was the 
phrase he always used when speaking of the North- 
erners or of the Federal soldiers.) I told him the 
facts, and he said, 'The guard will pass you, and 
I wish you to go among these old friends of yours, 
and see what you can find out. ' I did so, and met 
many whom I had formerly associated with, and 
was able, afterward, to inform General Lee on 
several points of interest to him." 

One more incident of this tremendous battle will 
help us to understand Lee's strong, calm grasp 
of the tumultuous situation. Again I quote from 
Major General Stiles's volume, "Four Years Under 
Marse Robert." 

"The courageous, consecrated chaplain of the 
Seventeenth Mississippi we knew as "Brother 
William", a little man of heroic spirit but some- 
what excitable. I was pausing, with my men, 
near the road from Fredericksburg down the river. 
Suddenly I saw Brother William coming, on a horse, 
at full speed ; I think he had no saddle, only a blan- 



THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE 157 

ket, and his horse was reeking and panting. As he 
drew near he saw General Lee and rode directly to 
him. I followed as fast as I could, fearing some 
news of disaster. Brother William leaped from his 
horse and, with eyes fairly starting from their sock- 
ets, began to tell the general that Sedgwick (Fed- 
eral) had smashed Early (Confederate) and was 
coming rapidly up toward us. 

"I have never seen anything more majestically 
calm than General Lee was at that moment. I felt 
the striking contrast between him and that dear 
little Brother William. Something like a grave 
sweet smile began to express itself on the general's 
face. But he checked it, and, raising his left hand 
gently, as if to protect himself, he interrupted the 
excited speaker, checking and controlling him 
instantly, and at the same time saying, quietly, 
'I thank you very much, but you and your horse 
are fatigued and overheated. Take him to that 
shady tree yonder, and you and he rest for a few 
moments. I'm talking to General McLaws just 
now. I'll call you as soon as we are through. ' 

" Brother William was dominated but not quite 
satisfied ; he began a mild protest, but he could not 
push it, in the face of Lee's quiet aversion. He 
desisted, and I went with him over to the tree. 
At once he began pouring out to me his exciting 



158 -^^ ROBERT E. LEE 



information. 'All is lost down there/ he gasped. 
'Sedgwick has stormed the heights and seized 
the town ; our brigade has been cut off and perhaps 
captured. Early, too, has been badly beaten; 
thirty thousand victorious Federals were coming 
rapidly up the road, along the river, toward us. I 
am one of the few to escape ; I seized this horse 
and galloped off at full speed to warn Lee. ' 

"I tried to suggest that probably General Lee 
had been told of the serious repulse, that doubtless 
Early had sent him word, but Brother William 
thought this impossible; he himself had started 
promptly and had ridden hard. 

"At that moment Lee finished with McLaws, 
came over quietly to Brother William, and, with a 
pleasant smile, greeted him. 'What is it that you 
were about to tell me regarding Major Sedgwick ? ' 

"Brother William hastily ran through his gloomy 
message to which Lee listened with entire serenity, 
and then rejoined equably, and with what looked 
like a mirthful twinkle in his kind eyes, ' I am very 
much obliged to you. Major Sedgwick is a very 
nice man ; I don't think he would hurt us very 
badly, but we are going to attend to him at once. 
I have just sent General McLaws to make a special 
call upon him. ' 

"I did not at that moment understand all the 



THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE 159 

bearings of the situation ; but of course I could see 
that our great leader held the situation in his own 
strong grasp. Later I learned that Sedgwick had 
formerly been a major in the regiment of which Lee 
had been colonel, and they had been close friends. 
Hence his humorous way of referring to him." 

But this incident was only one out of many which 
were developed, minute by minute, throughout 
the fierce conflict, as the fortunes of battle rose and 
fell. Bravery there was in abundance, on both 
sides ; but the victory inclined more and more to 
the Confederates, and at last rested with them. 
Toward the end of the battle a situation arose which 
must have brought to General Lee as full a measure 
of proud satisfaction as ever may come to a victori- 
ous commander. It was eloquently set forth by 
Colonel Charles Marshall in his address at a 
Soldiers' Memorial Meeting in Baltimore. 

"General Lee," said Colonel Marshall, "accom- 
panied the troops in person ; and, as they emerged 
from the fierce combat they had waged in the depths 
of that tangled wilderness, driving the superior 
forces of the enemy before them across open ground, 
he rode into their midst. The scene is one that can 
never be effaced from the minds of those that wit- 
nessed it. The troops were pressing forward, with 
all the ardor of combat. The white smoke of 



160 «-%^ ROBERT E. LEE 



musketry fringed the front of the line of battle, 
while the artillery on the hills in the rear of the 
infantry shook the earth with its thunder and filled 
the air with the wild shrieks of shells that plunged 
into the masses of retreating foes. To add greater 
horror and sublimity to the scene, the Chancellors- 
ville House and the woods surrounding it were 
wrapped in flames. In the midst of this awful 
scene, General Lee, mounted on the horse we know 
so well, rode to the front of his advancing battalions. 
His presence was the signal for one of those out- 
bursts of enthusiasm which none can appreciate 
who have not witnessed them. The fierce soldiers, 
the wounded, crawling with feeble limbs from the 
fury of the devouring flames, all seemed possessed 
by a common impulse. One long, unbroken cheer, 
in which the feeble cry of those who lay helpless on 
the earth blended with the strong voices of those 
who still fought, rose high above the roar of battle, 
and hailed the presence of the victorious chief. 
He sat, in the full realization of all that soldiers 
dream of — triumph ; and, as I looked on him in 
the complete fruition of the success which his 
genius, courage, and confidence in his army had 
won, I thought that it must have been from some 
such scene that men in ancient days ascended to 
the dignity of the gods." 



CHAPTER XVII 

The Turn of the Tide 

It is generally held, by historians, that the 
battle which was fought near Gettysburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, on the first three days of July, 1863, marked 
a distinct turn in the tide of the war. The Con- 
federacy had already lost heavily along the Missis- 
sippi, and now the Army of Northern Virginia, under 
General Lee, was beaten back from its campaign 
in the Middle States. 

From almost the beginning General Lee's policy 
had been an aggressive one, whenever opportunity 
offered, within the limits of the Old Dominion; 
now he had pushed northward, across Maryland, 
and into Pennsylvania. The people of the North 
feared that he might attack Harrisburg, and 
were even anxious for the safety of Baltimore 
and Washington. The Confederate leader's real 
object in pushing so far north was at least three- 
fold. He wished to divert Federal attention from 
Richmond, he hoped to win over supporters to the 
Confederacy from Maryland, and he needed sup- 
M 161 



162 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

plies of food and clothing for his army. His army, 
at this time, was perhaps the strongest fighting 
force in the world. As Lee said of them, proudly, 
"They will go anywhere, and do anything, if prop- 
erly led/' They were now seasoned veterans, 
confident because of victories at Fredericksburg 
and Chancellorsville, and wholly devoted to their 
able leader ; yet they were in a most needy condi- 
tion as to food and clothing. Willingly and joy- 
fully, however, they were undergoing hardships in a 
cause which they believed conscientiously and fer- 
vently to be a righteous one; and it should here 
be noted, to the great credit of General Lee and 
his tattered, half-starved soldiers, that, in their 
march through the fertile fields and prosperous 
towns of Maryland and Pennsylvania, they com- 
mitted few if any depredations. This self-restraint 
was then unusual in an invading army, and is so 
to-day. It was entirely due to their noble leader's 
express orders, and to their complete and loyal 
obedience to his wishes. 

The battle of Gettysburg has become, historically, 
the most famous struggle in all the war. It was 
fought on ground which Lee had pointed out to 
one of his staff, months before, as the probable 
scene of an encounter with the Northern army, 
yet it came on with a suddenness not anticipated 



THE TURN OF THE TIDE 163 

by either side. The cavalry has well been called 
the "eyes of the army," as it scouts and brings back 
information about the location and numbers of 
the enemy. This service, at the present day, is 
being largely accomplished, and most effectively 
accomplished, by aeroplanes. 

General Jeb Stuart, the dashing leader of Lee's 
cavalry, had been sent ahead of the Confederate 
army, and through zeal and boldness had gone 
too far afield. So that when General Buford, of the 
Union forces, came into contact with the advance 
lines of the Southerners, they, lacking the informa- 
tion which Stuart should have supplied, were taken 
by surprise ; but General A. P. Hill promptly met 
the attack, and the sound of firing drew other divi- 
sions of both armies directly to the spot. 

General George G. Meade was now the Union 
commander, impulsive "Fighting Joe" Hooker 
having resigned. Meade's leadership in this great 
battle brought him deserved praise. For in these 
summer days of 1863 the fortunes of the war were 
wavering. The highest bravery, however, was 
shown on both sides; acts of heroism were so 
numerous during those sanguinary three days as 
to become almost the rule rather than the excep- 
tion. Even in the hottest part of the conflict 
General Lee, as usual, maintained his self-poise. 



164 "-^ ROBERT E. LEE 

Once, when he chanced to pass near a mounted 
officer who was beating his horse, because the poor 
animal had shied at a bursting shell, the com- 
mander called to his officer, in a friendly way, 
" Don't be too hard on him, Captain! I've got 
just the same sort of foolish horse myself." 

Yet, despite this outward calm, Lee felt deeply 
the horrors of such slaughter as filled those days at 
Gettysburg. One week after it was over he wrote to 
General Pickett, the hero of the famous " Pickett's 
Charge," "No one grieves more than I do at the 
loss suffered by your noble division." We well 
know, from Lee's whole life, that he meant just 
what he wrote and said. Compare such warm 
human expressions, often on his lips, with the words 
attributed by the French writer, Taine, to Napo- 
leon Bonaparte after his Russian campaign : "That 
campaign cost me the lives of 300,000 men. But 
what are the lives of a million, to a man like 
me!" 

The total number of men engaged at Gettysburg 
was about 70,000 on the Confederate side, and 
100,000 on the Union side. Still, these men were 
not all fighting on any one day. Only a third of 
the number got into action on the first day. Of 
that number many were killed or wounded; and 
Lee lost, in the three days' fighting, in killed, dis- 



THE TURN OF THE TIDE 165 

abled, and missing, about 20,000; while Meade 
lost about 23,000. Lee stated afterward, in a letter 
to an inquiring historian, that the failure of the 
Confederate forces to gain a complete victory was 
due to the fact that they were put into the struggle 
in detachments, instead of going in all together, 
along the whole line. 

To this statement should be added the unpleasant 
but evident fact that General Longstreet, a powerful 
fighter when once engaged but inclined to resent 
suggestions from his superior officer, was slow to 
obey Lee's orders. He did not "go in " as early 
in the conflict as was needful ; and many Confeder- 
ate veterans declare bluntly that he, by his ob- 
stinacy, lost the battle to the whole army. 

The field of Gettysburg to-day, while much al- 
tered, retains more reminders of the great struggle 
than any other of the Southern battle-fields. Many 
monuments and memorials have been erected upon 
it, but they have not obliterated the main outlines 
of the scene. Rather, they have served to make 
clear to us what the position and movements of 
the armies must have been. In general it may 
be said that the battle-ground, lengthwise from 
north to south, is valley-like, with swells of ground 
a mile apart, Cemetery Hill being the stronghold 
of the Union forces, with the famous " Round Top " 



1 66 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

and " Little Round Top'' at its southern extremity. 
Seminary Ridge, across the valley, was held by the 
Confederates. 

A Grand Army veteran, who was wounded in 
this battle, has given us a reminiscence which 
strengthened the admiration he had previously 
felt for the illustrious Confederate commander. 
He says: "It was the last day of the fight. I 
was badly wounded ; a ball had shattered my left 
leg ; I was lying helpless on the slope of Cemetery 
Hill. As Lee led his army in retreat, he came near 
me; I had thus far in the war hated the South 
bitterly, and as I saw Lee but a short distance 
away, feeble as I was from loss of blood, I raised 
myself, looked defiantly at him, and shouted, 
" Hurrah for the Union!" The general looked 
towards me, rode nearer, dismounted, and — well, 
I confess I thought he meant to kill me. But not 
so. He came and looked down at me with such a 
sad expression that any fear left me, and I simply 
wondered. Then he took my right hand, looked 
tenderly into my eyes, and said, 'My son, I hope 
you will soon be well.' If I should live to be a 
thousand years old I shall never forget the expres- 
sion in his face. After he left me, I cried myself 
to sleep, there upon the bloody ground." 

Some men could not understand Lee's high moral 



THE TURN OF THE TIDE 167 

and spiritual plane which made him capable of 
that act and similar acts. But most of us can com- 
prehend it, even though we fear we could not attain 
to it under similar circumstances. 

Probably the most exciting hour, in those many 
hours of the three Gettysburg days, was the charge 
of Pickett's division down Seminary Ridge, across 
the valley and up Cemetery Hill, there to be re- 
pulsed by the Union " Second Corps," under Gen- 
eral Hancock. That daring and deadly charge was 
made, as Lee knew, without the favoring conditions 
he had desired. He had arranged, as his best plan 
of attack, that General Pickett should lead the 
assaulting column, and that he should be supported 
by the divisions of McLaws and Hood, and as large 
a part of A. P. Hill's command as he could spare. 
Accordingly, at twelve o'clock of July 3d, on that 
third day of continuous fighting, the signal for 
battle sounded. And as is usual in such a situation, 
the attack was begun by the Confederates with a 
heavy fire of artillery. The Federal batteries on 
Cemetery Hill, the ridge opposite, at once replied. 
General Hancock, of the Federal side, has written 
that he thought it the most terrific cannonade that 
ever had taken place, up to that date. 

Presently the Federal guns slackened their fire, 
and at length became silent. The Confederate 



1 68 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

batteries then did the same, and an absolutely 
deathlike silence reigned on the field. 

This cessation of the Federal fire was the favor- 
able moment for the Confederate attack; and 
Pickett's division, fresh troops all, sprang to the 
charge. A brigade commanded by Pettigrew 
supported their left, and Wilcox's brigade supported 
their right. The total number of men thus attack- 
ing was about 15,000. As soon as the Federals saw 
them coming down the hill they opened fire fiercely 
from their batteries which had not been put out of 
commission. A long half mile was the distance 
across the field which the Confederates must trav- 
erse. A second seemed like a minute, and a 
minute like an hour, as those brave men sped over 
the rough ground, with the Federal guns mowing 
them down like ripened grain. Soon Pickett's 
supporting brigades fell back in disorder, and he 
with his division alone continued the rush "into 
the jaws of death." 

Let an eyewitness, General Long, continue the 
terrible recital: "The gallant Virginians marched 
steadily forward, through the storm of shot and 
shell that burst upon their devoted ranks, with a 
gallantry that has never been surpassed. As they 
approached the ridge their lines were torn by in- 
cessant volleys of musketry, as by a deadly hail. 



THE TURN OF THE TIDE 169 

Yet with unfailing courage the brave fellows broke 
into the double-quick, and with an irresistible charge 
burst into the Federal lines and drove everything 
before them toward the crest of Cemetery Hill, 
leaping the breastworks and planting their stand- 
ards on the captured guns with shouts of victory. 

"The success that General Lee had hoped and 
expected was gained, but it was dearly bought and 
short-lived. His plan had gone astray through the 
failure of the supporting columns. Now was the 
time that they should have come to the aid of their 
victorious comrades, but, alas, Heath's division, 
which two days before had behaved with the great- 
est gallantry, had not been able to face the terrible 
fire of the Federal lines, while the other supports 
were too remote to afford timely relief ! The vic- 
tory which seemed well within the grasp of the 
Confederate army was lost as soon as won. On 
every side the enemy closed in on Pickett's brigades, 
concentrating on them the fire of every gun in that 
part of their lines. It was impossible to long with- 
stand this terrific fusillade. The band of heroes 
broke and fell back, leaving the greater part of their 
number dead or wounded upon the field, or captive 
in the hands of their foes." 

Other points in the field witnessed scenes almost 
as terrible. One veteran, a Southerner, has given 



170 ^*k ROBERT E. LEE 

a brief but vivid picture which protrays war in its 
veritable horrors: "I recall Latimer's battalion 
which had fought nobly in an artillery duel. Men, 
horses, and guns were huddled like so much wreck- 
age in a little saucer-like depression behind Culp's 
Hill. The guns were dismounted and disabled, 
gun-carriages were smashed and splintered, ammu- 
nition had exploded, limbers were upset, wounded 
horses were kicking and plunging, dashing out the 
brains of wounded men around and under them, 
while cannoneers with pistols were crawling about, 
through the wreck of harnesses and equipments, 
shooting the struggling horses, to save the lives 
of the wounded, helpless men." 

In our sympathy for human beings in their 
anguish and agony upon the battle-field, we must 
not forget the almost equal mental and physical 
agony of the horses who shared those perils. As 
one Southern soldier said, " It's worse for the horses 
than for the men, because the men enlisted to get 
killed, while the horses had no choice." 

A veteran of the war, evidently a man sympa- 
thetic with animals, has written this regarding the 
mental distress of horses in battle : 

"I have seen these faithful, sensitive creatures 
under fire; and sometimes, when shells were 
screaming over their heads, they crouched in terror 



THE TURN OF THE TIDE 171 

until their bodies nearly touched the ground. The 
artillery horses always seemed much less fearful 
in battle if their drivers remained with them, 
especially on their backs ; and when the men went 
away, for a time, and returned, the horses welcomed 
them with whinnies of joy, and rubbed their heads 
against their drivers, with appealing affection. 
And the poor creatures loved not only their drivers, 
but one another; I have heard and seen a horse 
whose mate had been killed at his side utter agoniz- 
ing neighs, shuddering violently ; and I have known 
a horse, thus bereft of his mate, to refuse to eat, 
to pine away, and die." 

Such heartrending details of the carnage of battle 
might be quoted almost without limit. There 
were portions of nearly every battle, in our Civil 
War, which were as terrible as the famous " Pick- 
ett's Charge." It is easy for civilian war critics, 
when a war is over, to sit around tables, with maps, 
and point out defects in strategy ; but such sur- 
veys and criticisms are likely to vary considerably 
from the level of sound judgment ; because, in the 
exigencies of actual combat, conditions are con- 
stantly arising which demand action, and speedy 
action, yet could hardly be stated at their full 
value years after the fight was over. Then, too, 
among the actual participants in a battle, not one 



172 ^%< ROBERT E. LEE 

of them sees all of the battle as the commanding 
general sees it. And even the commander, when 
of as generous a nature as Lee's, may lighten the 
weight of blame for his subordinate officers by 
assuming too much blame for himself. 

Colonel Theodore Roosevelt has given this testi- 
mony to the ability of Robert E. Lee: " As a mere 
military man, Washington himself cannot rank 
with the wonderful war chief who, for four years, 
led the Army of Northern Virginia. He will rank 
with the greatest of all English-speaking military 
leaders; and this holds true, even when the last 
and chief of his antagonists, Ulysses S. Grant, may 
claim to stand as the full equal of Marlborough 
and Wellington." 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Again defending Richmond 

The terrible battle of Gettysburg was over. The 
losses of the Confederate army and the Federal 
army had been about the same ; opinions are not 
harmonious on this point; but the Confederate 
army, after remaining a few days in position, half 
expecting attack and not averse to it, withdrew 
in good order, and General Meade did not attempt 
pursuit. 

Slowly the Army of Northern Virginia moved 
southward, without panic, while Lee realized that 
he must now abandon an offensive campaign and 
be content with protecting Richmond, the seat of 
the Confederate government. President Lincoln 
had called upon the Union states for more men, 
and the Army of the Potomac was filling up. But 
the Army of Northern Virginia could not hope for 
such accessions, as the South had already put all 
its fighting force into the field. President Davis 
said, as he sought new men for the Southern army, 
— older and younger men who had not before been 

173 



174 , ^^ K ROBERT E. LEE 

called to the colors — "It is like robbing the 
cradle and the grave." 

Lee's task now was to inspire his troops with 
courage, even as he had before checked them from 
tyranny and brutality. In both these efforts he 
was successful. And we may learn how tenderly 
he dealt with his fellow- soldiers by this story, 
authentic and admirable. Colonel Venable, a 
member of Lee's staff, one day made a report to 
his commanding officer about certain difficulties 
concerning the fording of the Potomac River, just 
ahead of them. And he made his depressing report 
in too loud a tone of voice. Lee, it is said, reproved 
him sharply, for he did not wish the other officers 
and men to hear it and be discouraged ; but, the 
story continues, he afterward felt regret that he 
had hurt Colonel Venable's feelings. So, a short 
time after, he invited the colonel to drink a friendly 
glass of buttermilk with him. (This beverage appears 
to have been a favorite one with General Lee.) The 
colonel accepted, but his feelings were ruffled, as Lee 
could perceive. The next day, after they had crossed 
the Potomac in a drizzling rain, Venable, an excel- 
lent officer, being fatigued and being off duty, lay 
down near a pontoon bridge and slept. When he 
awoke he found himself protected from the wet by 
an oil-cloth poncho, — his general's own coat, taken 



AGAIN DEFENDING RICHMOND 175 

from his own shoulders. Thus General Lee apolo- 
gized ; and his aide, who was really devoted to him, 
could no longer cherish injured feelings. 

The retreat of the Confederate forces, if we may 
call it that, went slowly on, the Union forces not 
pressing them. Several weeks passed, with Lee 
on the Rapidan and Meade at Culpeper Court 
House. The two armies came into contact, from 
time to time, but there was no general engagement. 
The summer of 1863 wore away, and both armies 
went again into winter quarters, only a few miles 
apart. Meanwhile, the war was going on more 
actively in other parts of the country. On July 
4th, Vicksburg had surrendered to the Federals; 
on the 8th, Port Hudson also had surrendered ; on 
September 19th was fought the bloody battle of 
Chickamauga; and on November 24th and 25th 
occurred the famous battles at Lookout Moun- 
tain and Missionary Ridge. 

No vital change took place, however, in the 
relative positions of the two contending armies in 
Virginia ; but there were several encounters, as at 
Mine Run. Among the anecdotes recounted of 
General Lee, during this period of " watchful wait- 
ing," is one told by the Confederate General Hunt. 
It reveals Lee's breadth of vision and sympathy. 
" While at Culpeper, the Confederates were among 



176 ^ ROBERT E. LEE 

friends ; General Sedgwick (Federal) was encamped 
not far away, and some of the families of the neigh- 
borhood visited both camps, impartially. One 
Southern matron, who felt annoyance at this con- 
duct on the part of her young relatives, reproved 
them, in Lee's presence, appealing to him to sup- 
port her. The great man's response was wise and 
kindly. ' Young ladies,' he said, 'I know General 
Sedgwick well ; it is just like him to have his band 
entertain you; so, if the music is good, go and 
listen to it, and enjoy yourselves ! You will find 
that General Sedgwick will have none but agree- 
able gentlemen about him.' " 

Throughout the winter Lee realized that, with 
the opening of spring, when the weather would be 
milder and the roads passable, vigorous hostilities 
would be renewed, and he must defend Richmond 
from the invading Federal Army. This he could 
foresee ; but he could not foresee something which 
occurred on March 3d, 1864, — the appointment of 
General Ulysses S. Grant as Lieutenant General of 
the Union Armies, leaving General Sherman in 
command of the forces in the West. After a few 
weeks Lee stationed his depleted, half-starved and 
half-clothed army in the country just outside of 
the Confederate capital, and there he awaited the 
advance of Grant. 



AGAIN DEFENDING RICHMOND 177 

In the earlier and more prosperous days of 1862- 

1863, the Southern soldiers had been furnished with 
an equipment like this: "Each soldier carried one 
blanket, one small haversack, one change of under- 
clothing, a canteen, a cup and plate of tin, a knife 
and fork, and the clothes in which he stood. When 
marching, the blanket, rolled lengthwise, the ends 
brought together and strapped, hung from the left 
shoulder across under the right arm. The hav- 
ersack — furnished with towel, soap, comb, and 
knife and fork, in pockets, and underclothing in 
the main division, with rations in the other divi- 
sion — hung on the left hip. With this 'rig' 
the Confederate soldier considered himself in 'full 
dress,' he could get into this in two minutes. In 
it he marched and fought ; like the terrapin, as he 
facetiously said, * All he had he carried on his back.' " 

But that equipment had been only during the 
early stages of the war. Gradually the brave 
fellows discarded portions of their luggage, even 
as they wore off their flesh tissues. Indeed, when 
Lee led them in the battles before Richmond, in 

1864, they were trained down to bone and sinew; 
and their physical endurance, like their courage, 
was well-nigh limitless. 

Grant's army before Richmond, reenforced by 
drafts from the Northern states, was of a much 



178 ^ ROBERT E. LEE 

lower grade ; many of the drafted men fought half- 
heartedly, while many of the ''substitutes" were 
diseased in body and of low character. If Grant 
could have commanded an army of the high 
quality of McClelland in that same territory, 
two years before, probably he would have captured 
Richmond in a few days. 

However, in one way and another, the Army of 
the Potomac and the Army of Virginia were less 
powerful than in 1862, and the war went on dog- 
gedly, with much shedding of blood, and the slow 
wearing away of regiments and divisions of the 
Confederate troops. Grant, in the battles of this 
period, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold 
Harbor, lost far more men than did Lee ; but his 
purpose was to hammer, and hammer again, at 
his foes even though he lost two men to their one 
in every contest. In the battle of Cold Harbor, 
the Union soldiers who took the offensive knew 
that death was certain to come to a large number 
of them. Before going into action, therefore, 
many of them pinned slips of paper, bearing their 
names, upon the backs of their jackets. Precisely 
the same thing had been done by the Union soldiers 
at Mine Run a few months before. In both cases 
the brave men were ready to obey orders, but knew 
that most of them would lose their lives in doing so. 



AGAIN DEFENDING RICHMOND 179 

One of the most famous situations in the whole 
war was the terrible struggle of the "Bloody Angle," 
at Spottsylvania. This "angle," or "salient," 
was, as its name indicates, an abrupt turn in the 
battle line. An army, when it gives battle, should 
present its front in as nearly a straight line as pos- 
sible, thus keeping full face to the enemy ; if the 
line becomes broken or bent it affords a better 
opening for the enemy's attack on two sides. The 
famous "Bloody Angle" was a situation of this 
sort. 

At this period of the battle of Spottsylvania Lee, 
in his anxiety, went forward toward the firing-line 
instead of remaining at the rear, on some eminence, 
to direct the contest. But here, as on several 
similar occasions, his men cried out to him, almost 
fiercely, to " Get back out of danger ! " They even 
seized Traveler's bridle and dragged him away, 
so well did they know that Lee was the keystone 
of the Confederate arch of defense. And he did 
as they wished, on these occasions. Once, as he 
reluctantly rode to the rear, he remarked with sad 
humor, "There seems to be no place whatever for 
me in this battle." 

The Battle of the Wilderness, with the Union 
forces entangled in swamps, groping their way, 
lasted two days, — May 5th and 6th, 1864. Then 



180 '"^* ROBERT E. LEE 

followed other fierce struggles, by means of which 
the Confederates were steadily lessened in numbers, 
under the determined and skillful attacks of General 
Grant. Through all these days and nights of hard- 
ship and gloom General Lee shared, as far as was 
possible, the exposure and needs of his men. The 
almost incredible emptiness of his commissariat 
is disclosed by this incident. A young officer had 
come out from Richmond to the army, with some 
information from President Davis; he knew one 
of the members of Lee's staff, and by him was 
invited to remain to dinner and he accepted the 
invitation. The dinner consisted of a large joint 
of some kind of meat, " garnished" abundantly 
with " greens." General Lee himself did the sparse 
and pathetic "honors" of the table. But each 
of the members of the staff, as he was asked, said 
he would take some greens but declined the meat. 
Likewise did the young visitor, being a person of 
tact. After the meager meal, going apart with 
his friend, the visitor inquired about the food. 
"Why did you all eat greens and decline the 
meat?" he asked. 

"I will tell you, honestly," came the explana- 
tion. " That meat belonged to Company F. We 
borrowed it, for to-day, to help the general's 
feelings, but we promised to return it untouched." 



AGAIN DEFENDING RICHMOND 181 

Similar incidents might be recounted, all going 
to show, directly or indirectly, the unaffected sim- 
plicity of the noble son of " Light Horse Harry" 
Lee, who shared the privations as well as the 
successes of his men. His intimate friends and 
fellow-officers knew this, as the North did not at 
the time; indeed, the North could not, so bitter 
was the hostility between the two warring sections 
of the stricken country ; later, after the war, ever 
more and more brightly the star of Robert E. Lee's 
glory shone through the mists of prejudice, and he 
came into his own. 

One stronghold in Virginia — in addition to 
Richmond — still held out under the Confederates, 
the city of Petersburg, thirty-five miles south of 
Richmond. And General Grant, discouraged by 
his failures in direct attack upon the Southern 
soldiers defending Richmond, turned his attention 
to this important position. During eight months 
he besieged it; and on April ist, 1865, after the 
loss of thousands of brave men, the Federals took 
the city. 

The long winter of 1864-65 brought despair to the 
Confederacy. The Alabama had been sunk by the 
Kearsarge; Sherman had made his victorious but 
devastating " March to the Sea." The resources 
of the Confederacy were at a low ebb. The re- 



182 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

maining fragments of the once proud and powerful 
Army of Northern Virginia, barefoot and hungry, 
lived largely upon such primitive food as parched 
corn, even disputing with their horses the posses- 
sion of this meager fare. There could be but one 
end. The great Southern commander saw this 
end long before his men realized it ; and, true to 
his humane instincts, he now sought to prevent 
the further useless slaughter of his devoted troops 
who still obeyed his slightest suggestion. On 
April 2d, the day following the surrender of 
Petersburg, Lee retired from Richmond and sought 
to reach Danville, Virginia, there to join General 
Joseph E. Johnston; but a strong Union force 
intercepted him, and he turned toward Lynchburg. 
Again he was checked, this time by General Philip 
Sheridan. Then, on April 9th, 1865, although his 
really famishing and weakened men in their heroism 
wished otherwise, he decided not to protract their 
distress. He therefore faced, sadly but frankly, 
the problem of an honorable capitulation. 



CHAPTER XIX 

Appomattox Court House 

General Grant also was desirous of ending the 
war as soon as possible ; he knew, as did the leaders 
of both armies, that a surrender by Lee was the 
inevitable outcome of the situation. On April 7th, 
1865, Grant sent a letter to Lee in which he said 
that he hoped there would be no further shedding 
of blood. Thus he tried to pave the way for 
negotiations concerning a surrender. 

Lee's reply was immediate. He stated that he 
too wished to avoid any further bloodshed, and 
asked what terms would be given him and his army. 
The next day Grant's reply was put into his hands ; 
it read, in part, " There is one only condition upon 
which I insist ; namely, that the men and officers 
surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms 
again against the United States Government, until 
properly exchanged." 

But General Lee, now that the hard step was 
indeed before him, shrank from it. His officers 
advised it, yet he knew that on him rested the 

183 



184 ~^*> ROBERT E. LEE 

responsibility. Again he wrote to General Grant, 
saying that he would like to meet him and talk over 
the terms offered. 

To this suggestion General Grant would not 
accede. This decision was not harsh, on his part. 
He knew his own mind, — the whole country knew 
its inflexible nature by this time, — and he realized 
that the surrender must come on his own terms as 
already conveyed to General Lee; therefore he 
declined to meet the Confederate leader, and 
waited. On April 9th Lee wrote and agreed to 
meet Grant at once, "in accordance with the offer 
contained in your letter. ' ' Grant promptly replied, 
and the momentous interview took place immedi- 
ately after this exchange of messages. 

Colonel Babcock, the bearer of General Grant's 
last note, had found General Lee near Appomattox 
Court House, resting under an apple tree, upon a 
blanket spread upon some fence rails. This fact 
probably started the story that the actual surrender 
took place at that spot, but it did not; it took 
place in the house of Mr. Wilmer McLean, not far 
distant. This place of meeting, a two-story brick 
structure with a porch, was asked for by one of 
Lee's orderlies, and the owner readily gave its use. 
General Lee, with a few officers, reached the house 
first, and was soon joined by General Grant, 



— r 




APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE 185 

accompanied by Generals Sheridan and Ord. One 
of the persons present has described the scene : 

" Grant sat at a marble-topped table, in the 
center of the room, Lee at a small oval table near the 
front window. Grant was not quite forty-three 
years old, five feet eight inches tall, shoulders 
slightly stooped, hair and beard nut-brown, wearing 
a dark-blue flannel blouse, unbuttoned, showing vest 
beneath ; ordinary top-boots, trousers inside ; dark- 
yellow thread gloves; without sword or spurs; 
and no marks of rank, except a general's shoulder- 
straps. 

"In marked contrast with this sat Lee — now 
fifty-eight years old — six feet tall, hair and beard 
silver gray; a handsome uniform of Confederate 
gray, buttoned up to the throat, with three stars 
on each side of the turned-down collar, fine top- 
boots with handsome spurs, elegant gauntlets, 
and at his side a splendid sword. 

"This sword had a white handle, with a lion's 
head at the top ; it was wound with gilt wire, and 
had a gilt guard, while the scabbard was of blue 
steel with gilt trimmings. It had been presented 
to General Lee in 1863." (This sword was given, 
later, by General Lee to his son, General W. C. Lee.) 
"With his magnificent physique, ruddy cheeks, 
and dignified demeanor, General Lee was the focus 



1 86 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

of all eyes. His manner indicated that he had a 
hard duty to perform, and he meant to go through 
with it, as soon and as well as possible. The two 
commanders, after exchanging a few reminiscent 
sentences about the Mexican War, years before, 
proceeded to the stern details of their interview. 
At General Lee's request, the terms of the sur- 
render were written out and signed by General 
Grant." 

These terms were, in the main, satisfactory. 
Only the Confederate chieftain, mindful as always 
of his faithful soldiers, suggested that he would 
like to have them allowed — many of them being 
farmers — to take home their horses for use on 
their farms. And this request was promptly 
granted by the Federal leader, who, throughout 
all the negotiations, before and during the meet- 
ing, had evinced a noble and considerate spirit. 

After the papers had been signed, Lee mentioned 
the famished condition of his soldiers, and General 
Grant arranged to have their needs attended to. 
There was no dramatic surrender of a sword by 
Lee at this interview, and a return of the sword 
to him by Grant. The two great commanders 
conducted themselves, as always, with entire 
simplicity, each feeling profound respect for the 
other's character. 



APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE 187 

The interview being ended, General Lee rode 
slowly and sadly away. He had now to endure 
an experience which was in some ways even harder 
than the meeting with the Federal commander, for 
the time had come when he must go out and meet 
his troops, and tell them the closing act of the 
great drama. This scene has been tenderly, 
glowingly, described by General Fitzhugh Lee: 
"The troops crowded round him. They had seen 
him when his eye calmly surveyed miles of raging 
conflict, had closely observed him, tranquil, un- 
disturbed, as he heard the shout of victory rend 
the air. Now they saw their beloved chieftain a 
prisoner of war, and boundless sympathy and love 
for him filled their hearts. They pressed up to 
him, anxious to touch his person or even his horse, 
while tears washed from strong men's cheeks the 
stains of powder. Slowly he turned to his soldiers, 
and with quavering voice said, 'Men, we have 
fought through the war together ; I have done my 
best for you. My heart is too full to say more.' 
It was an affecting scene. 

" No sooner was the first shock of surprise over, 
among the soldiers of both armies, than they 
wisely dropped their enmities. They began to 
fraternize with great speed, almost rejoicing to- 
gether. The Northern men were eager to relieve 



188 ^ ROBERT E. LEE 

the necessities of their Southern brothers, and the 
Confederates were appreciative and grateful. One 
battle-scarred old veteran said to some newly- 
found friends in blue, 'You uns needn't think you 
uns have done whipped we uns. We uns have 
just wore ourselves out a-whipping you uns ; and 
if you uns don't behave yourselves mighty pretty, 
we uns are going to whip you again.' " 



CHAPTER XX 

Lee's Greatness in Adversity 

We have seen the nobility of General Lee's 
character under fire at Antietam, Chancellors ville, 
Gettysburg, and on other bloody fields. When 
lesser men would have bent under his burden, he 
stood firm and strong, and all who wished to do 
so might lean upon him. 

But now had come the hour of admitted defeat, 
for defeat the world would call it ; yet when learn- 
ing of the stupendous odds against which Lee and 
his followers struggled, it would award praise to 
the Army of Northern Virginia in its seeming 
" defeat" more than to many armies in their 
victories. We are told that several of the Con- 
federate officers urged their commander to allow 
them, rather than surrender, to lead their men in 
an attack on the enveloping Union line, and then, 
escaping into the mountain region on the West, to 
continue the warfare indefinitely. 

This might have been done, and the Federal 
government would have had the greatest difficulty 

189 



190 ROBERT E. LEE 

in stamping out the last glowing embers of the Con- 
federacy. But Lee would not encourage the plan ; 
he told those indomitable spirits that only one result 
could ultimately be reached, and many human 
lives would be thrown away without any real gain. 

His words were heeded; his slightest wish was 
law to his devoted followers. And so the Army 
of Northern Virginia dissolved in a mist of golden 
glory. "Let us now, comrades/ ' Lee said to 
them, a aswe have been one in a struggle for what 
we believed to be right, accept the decree of arms, 
and submit and unite in advancing the welfare of 
all the gracious arts of peace." 

This wise and noble attitude of Lee's was not 
reached by him without storm and stress of soul. 
We are told that when he came out from that 
momentous interview with the repressed but 
generous-minded Union leader, in the McLean 
homestead, his manner for a moment betrayed the 
anguish of heart which gripped him, in this, his 
Gethsemane. " Men who saw the defeated general, 
as he came forth, say that he paused an instant as 
his eyes rested on his beloved Virginia hills, and he 
struck his hands together in an access of inward 
agony ; then mounted his faithful horse, Traveler, 
and rode away, outwardly calm and self-controlled 



LEE'S GREATNESS IN ADVERSITY 191 

Naturally, Lee turned toward Richmond. His 
home at Arlington, the Custis estate, had been 
confiscated early in the war. The " White House," 
on the Pamunkey River, not far east of Richmond, 
for a time had been the home of General Lee's 
family. At this time, however, Mrs. Lee, with 
some of the family, was living in Richmond. 
Thither, therefore, rode the great soldier, as great 
and honored in his defeat as in his days of victory. 
He might have sent forward notice of his coming ; 
and, had he done so, the whole city would have 
bowed before him. He hoped to reach his house on 
Franklin Street unperceived. Simply, quietly, like 
scores of other Confederate soldiers in the city, Lee 
rode slowly through the streets. But. the citizens 
recognized him and almost immediately an enthusi- 
astic crowd gathered, among whom were men — so 
we are told — of the Federal army, all testifying, in 
every possible way, their admiration for him. 

Jefferson Davis had been thrown into a military 
prison, as had many other Confederates. Feeling 
in the North was strong against those who had 
tried to " break down the Union." General Lee's 
friends — although he had entirely submitted to 
the new conditions, and had urged all Confeder- 
ates to do the same — were anxious for his safety. 
One day two ex-Confederate soldiers called on 



IQ2 ^^ ROBERT E. LEE 



him, wearing tattered uniforms, with bodies 
emaciated from prison confinement ; and they told 
him, in hushed tones, that they were the delegates 
of " Sixty other fellows, around the corner, too 
ragged to come themselves." These men offered 
their beloved commander a farm back in the moun- 
tains, safe and comfortable. "We hear that you 
may be seized and imprisoned; and there is a 
narrow valley, near this farm of ours, where we 
could right off the whole Federal army." 

Lee was deeply touched by this unique and sin- 
cere expression of devotion, and he thanked the 
men, although declining the offer. Also, he man- 
aged to substitute some better clothing for the 
"other fellows around the corner." And finally 
all the men departed, relieved in mind and better 
clad in body. Many other incidents similar to 
this happened every week. 

For a time General Lee remained in Richmond, 
but he could not find there the privacy he sought ; 
he was the one person of greatest interest in the 
city. Many friends and former fellow-soldiers 
called on him, while curious and thoughtless tour- 
ists intruded on his privacy. Accordingly, when 
a friend offered him and his family the use of a 
country estate, in Powhatan County, Lee accepted 
the kindness, transferring his family thither, 



LEE'S GREATNESS IN ADVERSITY 193 

finding the peace and quiet of that retired spot 
most acceptable. 

Alas, his misfortunes were not yet over! His 
cup of sorrow was not yet full. He had condemned 
and deplored the recent assassination of President 
Lincoln on April 14th, 1865, and had applied for the 
benefits of the " Amnesty Proclamation " which 
was put forth by Andrew Johnson, formerly Vice 
President of the Union, now made President by 
Lincoln's untimely death. This act of Lee's did 
not meet the approval of many of the bitterest of 
the Confederates. Still, Lee wished to do every- 
thing in his power to bridge the chasm between 
North and South. 

In June, 1865, he was indicted for treason, in 
the United States District Court at Norfolk, 
Virginia. He responded to the summons to court, 
and in every way conducted himself as a good 
citizen should. The trial dragged out its futile 
and ungenerous length, dying, finally, of inanition. 
General Grant, always magnanimous, protested 
against such a trial, and doubtless his influence 
helped to bring it into disrepute. 

Robert E. Lee's name was now such a synonym 
for integrity that several attempts were made to 
secure it for business enterprises. One concern 
offered him the presidency of the company and 



194 "*^ ROBERT E. LEE 

fifty thousand dollars a year. "I would be of 
little service, " he is said to have replied, "I am 
quite unfamiliar with the work." To which the 
directors answered, "You would not be asked to 
do much ; what we wish is your name ; it would 
strengthen our company immensely." Still Lee 
positively declined. Then there came an offer 
of a large estate in Europe from some admirers 
on that side of the ocean, but his answer was that 
his duty was with his native land. He must now 
help to restore prosperity and tranquillity to the 
war-ravaged South. 

Next came the invitation to become president 
of Washington College at Lexington, Virginia. The 
salary offered was butfif teen hundred dollars, a sum 
which the trustees felt uncertain of raising, small 
as it was. They were daring spirits to make such 
an offer ; but General Lee saw, in such work, a field 
of real usefulness, and he at once accepted. On 
his veteran war-horse, " Traveler," he rode into 
the secluded little town, one autumn day in 1865, 
and, as soon as he was recognized, he was welcomed 
with transports of joy. 

The college was in a state of bankruptcy and 
general inefficiency. But, little as the new presi- 
dent, in his simplicity and humility of nature 
realized the fact, his arrival brought the institution 



LEE'S GREATNESS IN ADVERSITY 195 

into fame, so that it prospered as never before. 
This work was to his liking. He said: "I have 
led the young men of the South to battle ; I have 
seen many of them die upon the field. I shall now 
devote myself to training young men to do their 
duty in life." Fitting words are these from one 
whose whole career had been so heroically shaped 
by his sense of right and duty. 

The new president was held in more than esteem 
— in admiration, in reverence, by the students. 
They feared him, in a measure, yet the warmth of 
his heart showed through his outward dignity and 
reserve. Even when he made rules which re- 
strained their youthful diversions they trusted his 
wisdom. Such rules and regulations they liked to 
call " General Orders," in military parlance. 

It was the custom for students who prepared and 
delivered public orations to indulge, more or less, 
in thrusts at the " Yankees." But President Lee 
promptly checked these outbursts, acceptable as 
they were to many persons in a Southern audience. 
Throughout the war, as we have seen, he had not 
allowed himself to "call names" ; he had invariably 
referred to the Federal officers and men as "those 
people." Always Lee was a gentleman, always did 
he maintain "inner standards," which are the tests 
of true gentlemen. 



196 ^k ROBERT E. LEE 

Here are two incidents which show, one his 
leniency, his kindly indulgence toward youth ; 
the other, his stern, inexorable domination of a 
trying situation. One winter a certain youth 
from the far South became fascinated by the ice 
and skating. He "cut lectures" to indulge him- 
self in what was to him a novel pastime. He was 
summoned before the president. "You should 
not have broken the rules," said the president, 
sternly. "If you wished to go away, you should 
have asked permission." 

"I understand, General," was the lad's humble 
reply. Then his face brightened as he was about 
to leave the room ; his eyes twinkled and he dared 
to say, "The ice is fine, to-day, General." 

"Yes?" 

"I'd like very much to be excused and go skat- 
ing." The wish was granted. 

The other incident was this. Among the stu- 
dents were many young men who had been in ser- 
vice upon the battle-field. They were strong- 
willed and inclined to overstep restraints. Before 
President Lee's advent at the college there had 
been the custom of allowing a week's holiday at 
Christmas time. But, for good reasons, the new 
president decided that Christmas Day alone should 
be given as a holiday. At once there was a revolt. 



LEE'S GREATNESS IN ADVERSITY 197 

A petition was set in circulation which pledged 
the signers to absent themselves from lectures 
throughout the entire Christmas week. There 
were many names already signed ; the insubordi- 
nation boded ill for the college authorities. How 
would the new president meet the situation ? 

He met it. He announced, tersely, that any man 
whose name appeared on such a declaration would 
be expelled ; and if every student in the college 
signed, he would send them all home, lock up the 
college, and put the key in his pocket. 

That settled the rebellion. The victor of 
Chancellorsville was not to be disobeyed ; he who 
had been as a tower of adamant to millions of men 
and women through nearly four tumultuous years 
was not to be lightly opposed, and the declara- 
tion was quietly withdrawn. 

Thomas Nelson Page — whose admiration of 
Lee, great as it is, is no greater than the present 
writer's — has given us this interesting reminis- 
cence. He was a student at Washington College 
under President Lee. " I was so unfortunate, while 
at college, as to have, always, an early class. So, 
from time to time, on winter mornings, it was my 
habit Ho run late/ as the phrase went. This 
brought me in danger of meeting the president on 
his way from chapel. One morning I came face 



198 "^ ROBERT E. LEE 

to face with him. He greeted me courteously, and 
I touched my cap nervously as I hastened by. 
The next moment I heard him speak my name. I 
removed my cap and turned toward him. 'Yes, 
sir ? ' I stammered, ill at ease. 

"'Tell Miss X (mentioning the house-mis- 
tress with whom I boarded) that I would like her 
to prepare your breakfast for you a little earlier, 
if she can, please I '" 

That was all the reprimand the student received, 
yet it was effective. As in war days Lee was 
often most ingenious in admonishing his subordi- 
nates. A visitor at the college one day inquired 
after a student in whom he was interested, "Is 
he doing good work ? " 

The boy was not doing good work, as the presi- 
dent knew, for he kept in touch with practically 
every young man under his charge. But Lee 
hardly liked to say so in so many words. Instead, 
he smiled and made this reply: "He is a quiet, 
orderly fellow, but seems very careful not to injure 
the health of his father's son." That told the 
whole story, but not harshly. 

President Lee continued his outdoor exercise 
as much as possible. He rode regularly, on Trav- 
eler, among the roads and byways of the Lexington 
region. Often he was escorted by some of the 



LEE'S GREATNESS IN ADVERSITY 199 

children of his professors. His touch with child- 
hood was always sensitive and winning, and chil- 
dren quickly trusted him, and loved to be with 
him. A granddaughter of Governor Letcher, for 
whom General Lee had stood as godfather, was 
named Virginia Lee Letcher; she had a still 
younger sister, Fannie, who "tagged after her," 
as younger brothers and sisters always have done. 
One day while riding President Lee came upon 
Virginia, sitting by the roadside, very angry with 
Fannie, who stood near her. Virginia at once ap- 
pealed to him. " Won't you please send Fannie 
home? Won't you please make her go home to 
her mother?" 

The story continues that Lee, vastly amused 
at this childlike appeal, drew the persistent Fannie 
up to his saddle, where she sat in great content, 
and so he carried her home. When Mrs. Letcher 
afterward asked Virginia why she had appealed to 
General Lee, the child replied, "I couldn't make 
Fannie go, and I thought that he could do any- 
thing." That was the feeling which thousands of 
brave Confederates had maintained for four years. 
Indeed, the great military chieftain often had 
appeared to achieve the impossible. 

One of his biographers — and Lee has had many 
— relates this beautiful incident of his Lexington 



200 ^ ROBERT E. LEE 

life. "One day I saw the general standing near his 
gate, talking with a stranger to whom he gave some 
money as the two men parted. I drew near, ven- 
turing to ask who the man was. Lee replied, ' He 
was one of our old soldiers.' Much interested, I 
inquired further, 'And to what command did he 
belong?' My dear friend and former commanding 
officer replied, ' Oh, he was one of those that fought 
against us ; but we are all one, now ; and we must 
make no difference in our treatment of the two 
kinds.' " 

It was in this tolerant, kindly spirit that Robert 
E. Lee lived out the remainder of his days after the 
fortunes of war had gone against the South. 



CHAPTER XXI 

"Taps" 

The hardships which General Lee had endured 
throughout his severe and protracted campaigns 
finally exhausted the great stores of vitality which 
had been his in youth and early manhood. He 
was induced by friends to try seasons of recupera- 
tion at health resorts, but he gained little from 
these few vacations ; he relied, more than on any- 
thing else, for such partial recovery as he might 
make, upon his regularity of life, in which daily 
rides upon his faithful "Traveler" formed an en- 
joyable part. 

On some of these excursions pleasant incidents 
occurred which must have helped Lee, modest, 
unassuming hero that he was, to realize how deeply 
esteem and love for him were rooted in the hearts 
of the plain people. On one trip, in company with 
his daughter Mildred, he came to a ferry; they 
were about twenty miles from Lexington. The 
ferryman proved, on inquiry, to be a veteran of the 
Army of Northern Virginia. When the usual pay- 



202 ROBERT E. LEE 

ment for his services was offered him, the rough 
mountaineer's eyes filled with tears and he declined 
the money. "I couldn't take pay from you, Mas- 
ter Robert," he said, "I have followed you in many 
a battle." 

On another occasion, when father and daughter 
were riding together, a shower came up, and the 
two were obliged to seek shelter in a log cabin near 
the highway. The elderly woman within did not 
at first receive her wet guests with much cordiality. 
Her floors were scrupulously clean, and every foot- 
print left its mark. On the wall hung rudely 
colored portraits of Lee, Jackson, and Jefferson 
Davis. When the storm had somewhat abated, 
General Lee went out to bring up the horses. In 
his absence his daughter ventured to point out to 
their unwilling hostess that it was the original of 
one of those portraits who had been driven to seek 
shelter within her house. At once the poor woman 
stood astonished and almost inarticulate with joy. 
"Lord bless my soul ! " she cried. "To think of it ! 
That I should have had General Lee in my house ! " 

When the great Southern leader had first reached 
Lexington it seemed as if the admiration of his 
new neighbors and fellow-townsmen was as high 
as it could possibly be, humanly speaking ; yet, as 
the months and the few years passed, that feeling 



"TAPS" 203 

deepened into a veneration for the white-haired 
chieftain which was almost a religion. They had 
all read of him and heard of him, how nobly he 
had carried himself amid the roar of battle ; and 
now, in the quiet of their peaceful academic seclu- 
sion, he came and went among them with the ut- 
most simplicity, as if he knew not that he was 
among the most illustrious of living men. Com- 
parisons have been made, frequently, between Lee 
and Grant, and other great warriors of history, 
but without very satisfying results. One can only 
wish that Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee 
might have met, and talked, and sounded each 
other's mind and heart ; certainly they would have 
understood each other, and probably the differ- 
ences in their early training would have made them 
intensely interesting to each other. There was the 
same simplicity and magnanimity in both which 
would have made them close friends ; Lee the finer 
spirit by cultivation, and Lincoln the broader in 
grasp of intellect, and in range of sympathies. 

Upon each rested enormous responsibility, and 
each in silence bore his burden alone, — Lee be- 
cause of the personal reserve which a commander 
in the field must maintain, Lincoln because none was 
great enough to understand him and sympathize 
with him. Like two stars, in orbits which held 



204 ~^^ ROBERT E. LEE 

them far apart, they obeyed, each as each knew 
it, the will of Him who made the stars, and made 
human souls that shine with a stellar light. 

The end of all things earthly came to our illus- 
trious hero on the 12 th of October, 1870, when 
he was nearly sixty-four years old. In a moment 
he was struck down, physically helpless, and lin- 
gered but a few days, at times murmuring orders 
to one of his trusted lieutenants, the gallant A. P. 
Hill, as if again on the field of battle. Then came 
the Great Silence ; for the Inexorable Trumpeter, 
Death, had sounded "Taps," and "All lights must 
be out." 

Robert E. Lee has left an enduring memory of 
the high idealism of a human soul. The world has 
come to see the truer proportions of human values 
among races, — at least in theory, if not always 
in practice, — as it was not given to most men of 
the South to see them in the middle of the nine- 
teenth century. But the world rarely, if ever, in 
its long recorded history, has produced a finer and 
more exalted manhood than was embodied in Lee. 

He was buried in Lexington, Virginia; and all 
that was said in funeral orations and eulogies, how- 
ever unheeded by the North at that time, has be- 
come more and more acceptable in all quarters of 



"TAPS" 205 

our land. Senator Hill, of Georgia, said of Lee, 
"He was Caesar without his ambition, Frederick 
without his tyranny, Napoleon without his selfish- 
ness, and Washington without his reward." 

Sometimes we wonder, as we consider famous 
men, what this man or that might have been, under 
different circumstances ; as in Gray's " Elegy," we 
fall into conjecture about the "village Hampdens," 
" the inglorious Mil tons," and the "guiltless Crom- 
wells." But that obverse side of each human 
shield is hidden and unknown — even our own. 
In the case of Robert E. Lee, we have seen 
him tested in war and in peace, in adversity and in 
prosperity, under the exaltation of victory, and 
amid the commonplace duties of a daily routine. 
And everywhere and always he met the experiences 
that came to him with so poised and perfect a spirit 
that all who beheld him marveled at him. When 
Socrates said that "No harm could come to a good 
man," it was of a man like Robert E. Lee that he 
spoke. Lee met discouragement and defeat with 
patience and fortitude ; he met success and victory 
with self-restraint and dignity ; he passed through 
sunshine and through shadow as one whose soul 
was lighted by an inner glory which paled the 
flickering lights of earth. 



T 



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